Entwined Fates
by Rogue1979
Summary: Loki redemption fic. Loki is sent to Earth and given to the mercy of SHIELD in a 'trial by fire' devised by Odin. He is put through therapy where he meets a charming young psychologist and is forced to deal with his issues. Loki soon becomes intrigued with the doctor, realising there is more than meets the eye. Loki/OC. Rated M for eventual smut.
1. Chapter 1

Don't own anything, except my OC!

* * *

**Chapter One**

Loki dispatched the last of Malekith's foot soldiers with a slice through the neck and the pale warrior fell to the ground. When he was sure none more were left to attack him, he looked to the distance, where Thor was in combat with Kurse, and not faring very well. Hefting one of the elves' weapons, he made his way quickly across the dark desert to help his outmatched brother.

Kurse pounded mercilessly, each strike creating a crater beneath Thor's prone body, the Asgardian unable to escape as each blow came swiftly after the other. Just as Kurse lifted his enormous arms to strike again, Loki plunged the spear he'd borrowed through the monster's back to jut out the other side. Loki smiled to himself, but his glee was short lived when instead of falling or even stumbling, Kurse turned to look at him, a growl coming from him low and menacing. Before Loki could do anything, Kurse grabbed him and pulled him to his body, impaling him as well, his breath leaving him in a gasp, eyes wide with surprise.

Time slowed considerably for Loki. The rush of his blood in his ears deafened him, although Thor's cry of anguish could be heard from the ground. Loki knew it was a fatal blow, the Dark Elves' weapons more than enough to slay the likes of any Aesir. His life force would drain well before any natural healing could happen; his enhanced healing spells also too slow. In his mind, he silently cursed himself for his actions. Although the ruse against Malekith had been pre planned, in a small way, Loki had wished he really had cut off Thor's hand and that he had joined Malekith for perhaps even a small taste of the power the Dark Elf now wielded.

But Loki had decided to do the right thing after all, and right now, he had to do something else to stop this giant from finishing Thor, the blade obviously not fazing him. Without Kurse noticing, he reached out and activated one of the vortex grenades.

Time returned to normal as Kurse hurled him to the ground. Lying on his back, Kurse advancing slowly, Loki panted through the pain, clutching his wound. "See you in Hel, monster!" he ground out. Kurse looked suitably scared as realisation dawned and he tried to desperately pull the grenade from his side, but it was too late. The weapon exploded and in such close proximity to his body, Kurse was curled into himself, screaming, bones crunching, skin shredding and organs pulled into the small hole, which then closed in to consume itself.

Relief flooded through Loki followed immediately by excruciating pain. He grunted and squirmed, knowing his time was coming to an end. Thor rushed over to him and lifted him up muttering, "No, no, no. You fool, you didn't listen!"

"I know. I am a fool. I'm a fool!" The pain was almost too much to bear, the look in his brother's eyes just as unbearable. Loki didn't deserve that look.

"Stay with me, okay?" Thor said softly, brushing some dirt from his cheek.

"I'm sorry," Loki said, and he meant it. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"Shh…" Thor cooed.

A small laugh left Loki's lips followed by a groan of pain. "This wasn't supposed to happen, you know?" he stuttered. "Help you, save the girl, stop Malekith, and then return home with my head held high…" He coughed.

"Shh," Thor said again. "It's alright. I'll tell Father what you did here today."

Loki tried to scoff, but his efforts to stay awake were dwindling. With his last breath, he tried to make his dissatisfaction known, but all that came out was, "I didn't do it for him." He closed his eyes and let sweet oblivion surround him, the last thing he heard was Thor crying out once again as his life slowly ebbed away.

* * *

_When Frigga surreptitiously visited him in his prison cell, she would show him new tricks with magic. In the glowing, magic dampening cage, Loki had little use of this, but secretly relished the time with her._

_"You should embrace your heritage, Loki," she had said to him one day while his eyes rolled in his head and he turned away from her. "Whilst I am not of that nature, I have looked at certain magicks that can be used in conjunction with the abilities the Jotun have."_

_"I am not of that nature either," he spat._

_"Loki, you have great powers…"_

_"I deny them!" Loki shouted, his anger amplifying what little of his magic he had and Frigga's hologram spell flickered from the force of it. Loki quickly reigned in his temper, worried that his mother would leave him just then. "I deny them," he repeated quieter, his eyes downcast._

_"You should not," Frigga said moving towards him. She tried to put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but she passed right through him. "There are great many things you can do with the gifts you have. Please," she said with some urgency, "let me show you…"_

* * *

Loki could see a bright light. It blinded him and he put a hand to his eyes to shield them. As his sight adjusted, he was confused. This was neither Hel nor Valhalla, at least not from the grand stories he'd been told as a child. Or maybe, as he was a Frost Giant, this was their version of Hel.

Squinting off in any direction simply yielded more pure brilliant white, but turning once in a full circle, he thought he could see a figure in front of him in the distance. "Who's there?" he called out, his voice echoing across whatever void he was in. "What is this place?"

"_My son_," he heard a female voice say.

Loki's arm dropped to his side. He could feel a tear form in his eye as his heart was set to soar. He walked towards the figure, stepping faster and faster until he was running. It seemed he ran forever, but the figure was just as far from him. "Mother!" he called out reaching for her. A chance to see her, hold her again, tell her how sorry he was! He needed her!

"_It is not your time, Loki_," her voice said all around him. "_But there is something you can do to help yourself to return to the living_."

Loki stopped running, his blood running cold at the implication. "What? No!" he shouted, "I will not!"

"_You must_," Frigga's voice said softly, but desperately. "_You are needed_."

Loki felt the tear fall down his cheek. "No one needs me! And I've made my peace," he said defiantly. "I have been redeemed!"

"_Yes_," Frigga said, the sound coming from behind him. He whirled round but the white brilliance prevented him seeing her, her figure still off in the distance. "_And that is why you must go back. You have a chance now_."

"No!" Loki raged. He knew what his mother was asking him to do.

"You must!" Frigga's voice was right beside him.

When he turned he saw her clear as day. She smiled at him, and his resolve nearly crumbled. Despite his hatred towards her when he found out she was not his birth mother, she was always a light in the dark for him. He reached a hand out to place it gently on her cheek, but it didn't feel real. "I want to be with you."

"Not yet," she smiled sweetly putting her own disembodied hand onto his. "The road ahead will be long and hard for you, but you have to travel it. You have a very important purpose, and you are the only one who can do it. Your actions on Svartalfheim were only the first of many steps. You have to do what you need to do to get back. It is the only way." Loki blinked more tears away and Frigga was gone, her voice still echoing. "_The only way!"_

Loki clenched his fists and screamed in frustration until his voice was hoarse, dropping to his knees and then hunched over onto his hands.

It was then he saw drops of blood. Dark burgundy, almost blue, stark against the white of the void. He put a hand to his abdomen and it came away the same colour on his palm.

_You know what to do…_

Reluctantly, Loki stood, tightened his jaw and closed his eyes. _I'll do it for you…Mother._

* * *

Loki's eyes opened wide and he gasped for air, coughing as he tried to stop his body from dying. He had to work quickly. Patching into his magic _and_ Jotun abilities, much to his consternation, he manipulated his healing with the extreme cold of the ice in his blood, his skin turning Jotun blue. He poured it into his wounds and felt the freeze stop the damage from deteriorating allowing semi-normal blood flow to continue unheeded through his body, damaged vital organs healing first with the help of his other magic. It hurt like nothing he had experienced before and he vocalised it with punctuated grunts through gritted teeth.

When he was certain he was no longer in too much danger of death, he withdrew the Jotun in him and colour began to return to his skin. He groaned and tried to roll over, faintly aware of hands on him, voices of concern. Only when he was pulled into a rough hug did he realise that Thor was still there, as well as Jane Foster. He must not have been out for very long, not long enough for them to leave him.

"I'm fine," he said weakly trying to wriggle out of Thor's crushing embrace. "I'm fine."

"Fine?" he heard Jane say incredulously, but with undeniable concern mixed with relief. "You…almost died!"

"A minor inconvenience," Loki hissed as his wound tingled, healing rapidly. He tried to stand up, Thor quickly coming to his aid. He stumbled when he found his magic had weakened him significantly. He had to lean against his blonde brother to be able to maintain a semi standing position, avoiding the questioning look he was getting. He shook his head to brush them away, not wanting to have to explain his survival, and Thor didn't press anything. He looked up at the sky, which had darkened, even more than was normal on Svartalfheim, a rumble of thunder could be heard getting louder. "Is that you?" he asked Thor.

Thor shook his head. "No," he said gravely. "A storm is coming."

"We need to find shelter," Jane said, her voice edged with urgency. Thor nodded and they made their way slowly towards a nearby mountain range, walking as quickly as they could with Loki unable to move of his own accord. It was slow going and the winds tore at them whipping Thor's cloak behind them. He removed it and wrapped it around Loki in an attempt to help him heal. Loki would have shrugged it off, but he was too physically weak.

Just when they thought they might be blown away, Jane pointed out an opening in the rock face. They clambered in and collapsed on the ground.

"He's going to unleash it," Jane began as Loki was laid on a relatively flat rock, the red cloak still wrapped snugly around him. "Not just on Asgard or on a star. Malekith is going to destroy everything!"

Once Thor was happy Loki was comfortable, he crouched down near Jane. "How?" When Jane hesitated, he put a hand on her shoulder. "Jane, how?"

She looked at him, and Loki noted the fear in her eyes. "I saw him on Earth. Why would he go to Earth?"

"The Convergence," Loki said weakly.

"Oh, God," Jane said, lowering her eyes to the ground. "None of this would have happened if I hadn't found the Aether."

"Then Malekith would only have possessed it that much sooner," Thor reasoned.

Jane sighed, a wry smile on her face. "I only found it because I was looking for you."

Thor put a hand to her cheek. "Jane…" he whispered.

"Now we're trapped and Loki nearly died…"

Loki saw the two of them look at him. He turned his head away from them, their pitying eyes unnerving him. "We are not trapped," he said. "I will heal in less than a day and then we can make our way back to the glider. The secret pathway will…"

It was just then that music began playing. Loki looked over at Jane, who was looking at Thor with confusion. Thor shrugged. "It's not me."

Jane dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She answered it with trepidation, putting it on speaker phone. "Hello?"

"_Hi, Jane, it's Richard_."

"Richard?" Jane asked, her face a picture of puzzlement. "Where are you?"

"_I'm still in the office. It's…it's been a crazy day here today_."

Jane's eyes widened. "Oh my God, this is amazing!" She held the phone up into the air and began wandering around the cave, searching.

"_Is it?"_ Richard replied. "_I quite enjoyed our lunch despite never actually ordering anything_."

"How am I getting service in here?" Jane asked bewildered. Loki idly wondered if she was expecting an answer from her Asgardian companions. He would certainly not have been able to offer an explanation.

"_Is it a bad time_?" Richard asked.

"No! No, no, no! Please whatever you do, do _not_ hang up the phone," Jane said still searching deeper into the cave.

"_Okay then. I was just wondering if you want to try again. Uh...maybe dinner next time?_" Loki couldn't help notice the frown cross Thor's face.

"Uh...yeah, yeah, yeah. Um...just stay on the phone, okay?"

"_Yeah, I will…"_

It was then Jane noticed something on the ground. "Oh, my God!" Jane reached down to pick up some keys. She then turned and showed Thor and motioned for him to get Loki. Loki attempted to stand by himself, but nearly tripped over the cloak. Thor helped him and he huffed at his own incompetence.

"_Am I interrupting something?_" Richard asked.

"No, no, no, nothing at all," Jane said and flicked her wrist to encourage Thor and Loki to follow her.

"_I'm losing you there, are you in a tunnel?_" Richard asked.

Thor concentrated on helping Loki over debris and rocks and...Loki looked at the ground. "Why are there so many shoes in here?" he asked amused.

A few more yards and they stepped suddenly through on to Earth, outside a factory. The look on Jane's relieved face was a picture and she closed the phone, cutting the man on the other end off. Loki didn't recognise the area as being New Mexico or New York. Rather than ask right now, he let Thor and Jane lead him to a car. Jane opened the back door and he slid in and lay on the back seat with a groan. It was slightly more comfortable than the rocks of Svartalfheim.

As Jane started the car and Loki began drifting off to sleep, he heard Thor ask her who Richard was and Jane answering him with slight contempt.

* * *

_Loki saw nothing in the darkness, but felt a presence. It was sinister and malevolent with cruel intentions, but Loki could do nothing against it. And he didn't fight as it took a hold of him in his weakened state._

_"**Poor little Asgardian Prince. No chance of being a king, cast out from his own realm. Look at you; broken; your mind a weak and muddled mess. Don't worry, little Prince. **_**He_ will give you a new purpose. An army. A war with which to catapult you to your new throne. But there is something you will need. Something powerful. On Earth. _He_ will give you the means to obtain it._**_"_

* * *

Loki awoke from his memory being gently roused by Thor shaking him. Groggily, he sat up, shrugging the cloak off at the same time. He saw they were at a small apartment block and Jane was already opening the main door. Thor pulled him from the car and he staggered after her, thankful that he was now able to move by himself. The stairs proved to be slightly more difficult and had no choice but to let Thor help him again. When they reached Jane's front door and it opened, Thor pushed him behind his large frame. Loki was just about to ask why, when he heard voices on the other side.

"Jane!" a very enthusiastic woman's voice shouted.

"Hey," Jane answered. Thor took a step into the apartment and hung Mjolnir on the coat hook. Loki shuffled after him and mused that the wooden hook was strong enough.

"You can't just leave like that; the whole world is going crazy! All the stuff we saw is spreading…uh…did you go to a party?" Loki peeked around Thor's shoulder and saw Darcy Lewis, Jane's friend from New Mexico.

Jane ignored her and noticed another person in the room. "Erik?!" she queried and Loki then realised why Thor was shielding him from the others. Erik Selvig, the man whose mind he had occupied for a long time, guiding him towards the Tesseract, and then controlling his mind using the Chitauri sceptre.

"Jane! How wonderful!" Erik stood up to give her a hug. "You've been to Asgard," he said matter-of-factly, referring to her clothing.

"Where are your pants?" Jane asked the older man.

"Oh, uh…he…uh…he says it helps him think," a younger man said. Loki had never seen him before.

"Okay, well I'm going to need everything you got on this. All the work you've been doing on gravimetric anomalies, everything!"

"Okay," Erik said.

"Are you well, Erik?" Thor asked.

Erik finally realised Thor was there. He smiled broadly. "Yes, yes!" The smile faded. "Your brother is not coming, is he?"

Jane put a hand on Erik's shoulder quickly. "Erik, why don't you go put on some pants?" her voice squeaked awkwardly. Thor shifted uncomfortably.

Erik wasn't fooled. "He's here, isn't he?"

Thor nodded and moved out of the way to reveal Loki. Darcy gasped and Ian spluttered. "Isn't that the guy who…?"

"Yes, I am," Loki said, deciding to speak for himself. He put a hand on Thor's shoulder and moved forward wincing in pain, holding his abdomen. "Before everyone begins to fly off the handle, as you would put it, may I please take this opportunity to sincerely apologise for my actions?" He looked at Darcy. "I apologise for putting you in harm's way with the Destroyer." He looked at Erik. "And I apologise for the horrific invasion of your mind. I applaud the guile you had to put in that fail safe and keep it from me. You truly are a remarkable man with a strong mind." He turned to the young man. "I don't know you, but I apologise if I in any way wronged you." He felt dizzy. He turned to Jane, ignoring the looks of astonishment. "If I may be so bold as request a place to rest?"

Jane nodded and showed Loki where the couch was. As he settled, he was aware that despite his little speech, the three Midgardians were watching him warily. Thor and Jane were filling them in on the rest of the story in an attempt to appease them. He swung his legs up onto the couch, realising too late it was too small for him, so his feet kicked a table lamp onto the floor. Everyone winced as it smashed into multiple pieces. Loki opened his mouth, about to apologise again, but Jane held her hand up and shook her head indicating it wasn't his fault.

Loki noticed a look of guilt flicker across her face. He narrowed his eyes in confusion at her, and seemingly, she knew what his silent question was. She shook her head and smiled softly at him. Gratefully, he leaned back and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the burning sensation in his belly and back. He did, however, listen to the conversation that everyone was having, but only mildly.

Jane and Erik sounded like they knew what was going on. Thor threw in his oar reminding them of the short window of opportunity Malekith had to get it all done. Their concern was where it would all happen.

There was some shuffling. Loki opened one eye to see Erik pushing things off a table onto the floor. And they all looked like _he'd_ committed some horrible crime when he accidentally knocked over the lamp; Erik was doing it on purpose! Erik opened a map of England. "We follow the directions," he explained and proceeded to trace lines explaining how ancient Midgardian's had known of this event and conveniently left markers. "Stonehenge. Snowdon, the Great Orme. These are all coordinates taking us...here."

"Greenwich?" the young man, Ian, asked.

"The walls between worlds will be almost non-existent," Jane stated with disbelief. "Physics is going to go ballistic. Increase and decrease in gravity, spatial extrusions. The very fabric of reality is going be torn apart!"

The wooden hook Mjolnir had been hanging on shattered as Thor summoned it to his hands, preparing for battle. "Then we must go there and prevent Malekith from meeting his deadline." Loki began to sit up. "What do you think you are doing, brother?" Thor asked, his voice grave.

The tension in the room grew. The urgency of the situation was very apparent, but the four humans could sense something more immediate needed to be ironed out between him and Thor.

"I'd better get my pants," Erik said and shuffled off to find them.

"I'm going to get changed too," Jane said and went to her room, closing the door behind her.

"We're going to make some coffee," Darcy said and dragged Ian along with her into the kitchen area.

With them gone, Loki looked at Thor. "To help, of course," he answered.

Thor sat on the couch where Loki's legs had just vacated. "You almost died," he said with serious tones. "You can barely walk on your own. It would not be a good idea for you to be involved in the battle. You are not strong enough yet and I would not lose you again."

Loki snorted. "In a few hours I will be nearly good as new and able to…"

"We don't have a few hours," Erik said coming back, fully clothed. "The Convergence is happening now." Loki shot an exasperated look at the old man. He took that as his cue to help with the making of the coffee.

"You will be more a hindrance than a help, Loki," Thor said softly. "You need to rest."

"Do not treat me like a child, brother," Loki said venomously, ignoring the ache in his stomach, but putting his hand against the injury unconsciously.

"I am not treating you like a child; I am treating you like someone who nearly died!" Thor thundered suddenly standing up. Loki was surprised by the outburst and leaned back a little involuntarily because Thor had raised Mjolnir. It was at that point Jane returned in normal Midgardian garb. She put a hand on Thor's arm and he lowered it slowly. "My apologies, Loki," he said regretfully, "but I will not allow you to take any more part in this. You have already acted courageously, following me to disobey Father's orders, enduring our fellows' quips about your trustworthiness, saving not only Jane's life but mine as well, nearly dying in the process…"

Loki thought his blonde-haired oaf of a brother might shed a tear. He nearly leaned back when one of Thor's hands gripped the side of his head and neck in the familiar brotherly fashion he had come to hate, but found it oddly comforting this time.

"I lost you to the void and thought you dead. On the Dark World I thought I lost you a second time. I will not think to lose you yet again for a third. Would that I could, I would place Mjolnir upon you to keep you from following me, but I will have need of it. Listen to me this time, brother, and stay away." Thor looked at his companions. "Let's go."

"And what am I to do?" Loki asked as Darcy, Ian and Erik bustled out the door after grabbing some paperwork and equipment. He struggled to stand up and took a few shaky steps towards Thor's retreating back.

Thor paused before exiting the apartment. "Rest. Heal. If we fail, when you are fully able, return to Asgard, if you can."

"If you fail, there will be little point in my returning to Asgard." He reached Thor and put a hand on his shoulder, holding all his anger and resentment in check. He knew Thor was only trying to look out for him. It grated on him, but he knew he was right. "Do not fail…and come back to me, brother." It was a heart-felt as he could muster. He realised he didn't want Thor to die (anymore), he just wanted things to go back to the way they were before. He wasn't sure how in the last day since the blonde had come to his prison cell he'd reached that conclusion. Maybe it was because he felt both physically and emotionally weak at this time. He would address it at another point at some stage, he was sure, and maybe it wasn't even real, but it was oddly relieving for the moment.

Thor twisted and smiled ruefully at him, but didn't say another word, leaving to follow the others.

Jane held back. "Uh, I'm not sure how much you know about how things work here, but there's a remote on the coffee table there for the television. If you're hungry, it's no Asgardian feast but there might be some leftovers in the fridge. Or you can use my bed to sleep, if you need to." She pointed to a room off to the left.

Loki grinned at the small woman. "Thank you, Jane Foster," he said.

Jane smiled and went to leave. "Oh," she said turning back to him. "I never said thank you for saving me earlier." It was a far cry from only a few hours ago when she'd slapped him soundly across the face. "And…" She paused, looking away. "I'm sorry for nearly getting you killed." Loki had known Jane was harbouring guilt, but he had assumed she felt guilty about everything, not just his untimely near-death. If she hadn't been looking for Thor, she wouldn't have stumbled upon the Aether thereby resulting in Malekith's assault on Asgard. But, as Thor had rightly said, Malekith would have found the Aether with or without Jane's interference therefore it hardly mattered.

So Loki simply bowed his head in acquiesce, and then she left, closing the door behind her.

He only waited a few minutes to give the others time to have left before opening the door to the apartment to follow, only to find Thor standing there, arms folded with a frown. Loki laughed with surprise at having been so easily found out. "I was just checking you had everything you needed," he lied very unconvincingly, even to himself. Thor growled and pushed Loki back into the dwelling hand on chest. "Oh come now, brother," he protested, but Thor sat him down gently. A warning look kept him locked in place. "Very well," he conceded with a sigh. "On my honour, I won't try to help." He placed his right hand over his heart.

Thor said nothing, but turned and left. Loki felt sure Thor would not hang around again. Time was running out, but Loki didn't try to leave again. Instead, he leaned back on the couch closing his eyes, and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

_Loki watched the guards bring in the prisoners. "Odin continues to bring me new friends," he said, his arms clasped behind his back. "How thoughtful."_

_"The books I sent…do they not interest you?" Frigga asked._

_Loki looked over at his mother, wondering why she kept going against Odin's order. Had he not told him he would never see her again? "Is that how I am to wile away eternity? Reading?" He stepped around the multitude of furniture his mother had sent down for him._

_"I've done everything in my power to make you comfortable, Loki," Frigga said._

_"Have you?" Loki asked sarcastically leaning on the back of the plush chair. "Does Odin share your concern? Does Thor? It must be so inconvenient them asking after me day and night."_

_"You know full well it was your actions that brought you here," Frigga chided. _

_"My actions." He walked away from her, anger growing inside of him. "I was merely giving truth to the lie that I've been fed my entire life; that I was born to be a king."_

_"A king?" Frigga scorned. "A true king admits his faults! What of the lives you took on Earth?"_

_"A mere handful compared to the number that Odin has taken himself."_

_"Your father…"_

_"He's not my father!" Loki bellowed turning to look sharply at her._

_Frigga looked at him with sadness in her eyes. "Then am I not your mother?"_

_Loki pressed his lips together, contemplating his answer. His anger was clouding his thoughts. "You're not," he answered._

_To his surprise, Frigga smiled, a small chuckle emanating softly. "Always so perceptive of everyone but yourself."_

_Ashamed of his thoughtless words, Loki approached her and placed his hands in hers, but they travelled through the illusion, Frigga disappearing slowly._

_As she did, the scene changed around him, his heart dropping into his stomach as he recognised where he was. The rock in space. The endless craters. The darkness._

**_"The Chituari grow restless," _**_the Other said**. "You question us? You question **_**Him_? _He_ who gave you ancient knowledge and new purpose when you were cast out, defeated!? You will have your war, Asgardian. If you fail, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice we cannot find you! You think you know pain? We will make you long for something so sweet as pain!"_**

* * *

Loki had awoken with a start from his nightmare, briefly forgetting where he was, then remembering, and finding himself still alone, but no darkness surrounding him, he guessed the worst had either been averted or hadn't happened yet. He turned on the television and found a channel that was broadcasting the disturbance.

Shaky footage of Thor battling Malekith was being shown, and upon charging the Dark Elf, they both promptly vanished into a tear in the fabric of the universe sending them both who knows where, only for them to both reappear, still mid skirmish a few moments later.

Loki watched engrossed, stopping himself several times from getting up and rushing to aid them. It seemed like forever but then the footage switched to a news reader and it was then that Loki realised that what he was watching wasn't live as the man mentioned events that happened nearly an hour ago, commenting on how Thor had managed to vanquish Malekith, who had then disappeared, and was nearly crushed by the alien space ship which had also disappeared.

He jumped slightly when the door opened and Darcy and Ian barrelled in whooping with joy followed closely by Erik. Darcy danced into the kitchen, her joy apparent, and fetched some glasses. She then bounded over with them and a bottle of liquor, passing a glass to Ian and Erik. "We won!" Darcy shouted and poured the drinks. She went back into the kitchen to get more glasses, even giving one to a bewildered Loki. "It's over! Woohoo!"

"We did it!" Ian said with wonder in his voice, arm draped around Darcy's shoulders, and the two clinked theirs together in cheer. "We actually did it! We helped to save the world!"

"Yeah, baby!" Darcy said. She downed her beverage in one go.

Loki found their enthusiasm to be infectious and he smiled too. As he took a sip, Thor and Jane stepped through the door, and it was obvious that through the joy of the victory, they had been in a deep conversation about their potential future. Loki knew they would have to go back home to tell the All-Father what had happened. He didn't relish the idea, fully expecting to be imprisoned again, even alongside his wayward brother, but he was glad it was finally all over.

Jane smiled at Loki walking passed him and into the kitchen to join the small group, Thor following only as far as where Loki was sitting. "Are you well, brother?" he asked sitting heavily on the couch.

"Healing quickly," Loki said. He had checked himself over earlier and seen that he was well out of danger, the pain all but dulled, bruised purple where the spike had skewered him, but already fading. He himself had been amazed at how well his mother had known the freezing ability of the Jotun would be in conjunction with his own enhanced healing magic. It then occurred to him; the insistence she'd had in showing him how to use this magic in his cell all those months ago…had she foreseen the path he would be taking? He dismissed the idea. Frigga had been powerful with magic, but she couldn't have seen this. If she had, surely she would have done something to prevent it, and her own death? But she had told him during _his_ dying moments that his actions were the first steps along another path, so perhaps it had needed to happen. He shook his head imperceptibly. "And you?"

"I am well." Thor didn't sound or look well, Loki thought and he realised his brother must be considering their next move.

"He will never bless a union between you two," Loki said slightly more harshly than he meant to. He saw Thor wince. "Why not just stay here?"

"I have to go back to explain all this to Father. Heimdall, Sif and the Warriors Three will be incarcerated and I will take full blame for it all to free them. I also wish that you be absolved."

Loki was already picturing himself back in handcuffs and Thor with him sharing a prison cell. But he knew that Thor was honourable and despite that potential, and never being able to see Jane again, Thor would not be moved from his decision.

Loki sighed, not that eager to go either. "When do we leave?"

* * *

The journey back to Asgard was not as hard as they had thought. Heimdall had immediately opened the Bifrost to collect them when Thor called to him, hope blooming in both of their minds that Odin had been watching and seen their courage. Now standing in front of the All-Father, neither in chains, finding everything surprisingly calm since their departure, they awaited to hear what he would say.

"You once said there would never be a wiser King than me," Odin said from his throne. "You were wrong. The alignment has brought all the realms together. Every one of them saw you offer your life to save them. What can Asgard offer its new King in return?"

Loki looked at Thor from downcast eyes, arms at his sides. Upon returning, they had immediately been brought to see their father, and Thor had not explained to him what he would say to him. He held his breath.

"My life," Thor began. "Father, I cannot be King of Asgard. I will protect Asgard and all the realms with my last and every breath, but I cannot do so from that chair. Loki, for all his grave imbalance, understands rule as I know I never will. The brutality, the sacrifice, it changes you. I'd rather be a good man than a great King."

Loki smiled internally, his eyes still on the floor. Thor was giving up the throne? Maybe this was his chance. Had he earned his right to take Odin's place in his stead? Surely helping the mortal woman, although against the All-Father's command would be seen as noble.

Odin shifted on the throne. "Is this my son I hear, or the woman he loves?"

"When you speak I never hear Mother's voice." Loki looked up at this statement. A backhanded insult to the All-Father was not going to help their case and Odin was suitable shaken by it, but showed no signs of anger. "This is not for Jane, Father," Thor said quickly. "She does not know what I came here to say. Now forbid me to see her or say she can rule at my side, it changes nothing."

Odin sighed. "One son who wants the throne too much, another who will not take it. Is this my legacy?"

Loki opened his mouth to say something, but Thor held a hand up to silence him. "Loki redeemed himself with his actions. And I will fight for the Realms with honour, as you taught me. You speak of your legacy, is that not enough?" Thor sidestepped and put a hand on Loki's shoulder. "He has much to learn, yes, but I believe he will make a great King with some guidance." He turned to him. "You have to put aside your feelings of anger towards our Father," Thor whispered. Loki said nothing, simply shook his head.

Odin cleared his throat. "If that is truly what you wish, Thor, my first born son, then know this: I cannot give you my blessing, nor can I wish you good fortune."

Thor nodded. "I know." He bowed his head and unhooked Mjolnir from his belt holding it up to his father.

Odin shook his head. "It belongs to you."

Thor didn't smile, simply nodded slightly again and turned to leave, knowing his part of this meeting was over. He looked meaningfully at Loki as he left the throne room.

Loki watched Thor leave the room and then turned to his adoptive father as Odin began speaking again. "You are not ready to ascend the throne, my son," Odin said gravely. "You did act bravely for your brother and the realms saw this too. None could quite believe it after the events that have unfolded recently. But you have much to learn." He stood up from the throne and walked down the steps towards Loki, who simply shifted his stance uneasily. "Your anger and resentment towards me, towards your situation weighs heavily upon you, and this does not make for a good leader. Your actions, your mistakes, were not well thought out, and perhaps in some ways, not even your own."

Loki flinched at this. How could Odin possibly have known or even had a thought that his charge on Midgard for the Tesseract to ultimately bring the Chitauri there could have been anything other than his own plan? And if this was the case, why did he punish him for it in the first place?

"When I cast out Thor to Midgard without his strength and Mjolnir to aid him, he changed, just as I had hoped. He found the thing that had eluded him, the thing that was staying my choice to put him on the throne. I believe that this may also work for you."

Loki thought for a second before realising the implications of what Odin was saying. "No," he said, fear and anger rising in his veins. "No, no, no! You cannot seriously think what worked for Thor will work for me in the same way?" He took an involuntary step away from Odin. "My magic is what makes me who I am! The last gift of knowledge Mother bestowed upon me saved my life! You cannot take it away from me!"

"If your magic is what makes you who you are," Odin said loudly, his anger rising, "then all the more reason to take it from you. You are too mischievous for your own good and it has all been with the aid of your magic! A king does not need such trickery and deception!"

"_This_ from the King who would steal a baby from its homeland and use it for his own devices, lying about it to that baby all his life!" Loki spat.

"You do not have the _right_ to speak of my actions," Odin countered. "Those actions saved _your_ life. I had my reasons at the time, reasons that no longer matter now, but I was acting in the best interest of the Realms' futures. _Your_ actions thus far have been for naught but your _own_ good!"

Loki gritted his teeth, stopping himself from yelling more. It would do him no good. "I think I would rather be taken back to my cell in chains."

"That is no longer an option for you, my son," Odin said, his demeanour softening. "You do have the potential to rule, I have always thought so, and I will give you a chance." He turned and walked back up to the throne. He sat down. "You will return to Midgard with Thor. You will first be stripped of your power. Only once I deem you worthy will your power return and you will be welcome back here to rule." He lifted Gungnir high and with finality brought it back to the ground with a resounding boom.

Loki staggered backwards as he could feel his Mother's gift leaving him. He tried desperately to hold onto it, but had nothing he could do to stop the All-Father's ultimate word from being carried out. When the last of it vanished, he felt empty and hollow. An experimental flick of his wrist and nothing happened. It was a simple spell to open a pocket dimension to retrieve one of his daggers, one of the first things his Mother had taught him (for defence), and it did not yield. He looked up with rage on his face. "That was all I had left of her!" he yelled.

"When you have learned that not everything can be achieved through trickery, deceit and force, and learn to forgive those around you, and yourself, and see the truth, it will return to you."

Loki let out a frustrated shout. "Thor sacrificed himself on Earth and his power returned to him. I have already done that!"

"Thor did it because he had a new found respect for how the worlds work. You did not _intend_ to be sacrificed." Odin lifted a hand, a quick gesture and two einherjar flanked Loki.

Loki growled and spun on his heel quickly leaving the two guards to chase after him.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

There you go, the first of this multi-chapter story. I hope you enjoyed it. There is more to come so please follow/favourite the story. Also, I love feedback. If you think something is working well, please let me know. If you think something wasn't working or didn't make sense, please let me know. As I said, I am not yet finished the story, so can change things around if necessary.


	2. Chapter 2

Don't own anything, except my OC!

* * *

**Chapter Two**

It had been evident that Thor had heard everything that was said after he left the throne room because after Loki had stalked out, the two went to see Heimdall and they were sent back to Earth without a word said between them, no questions asked.

Jane had been very surprised and happy to see Thor, but she was even more surprised to see Loki with him. After a brief explanation of the circumstances, the group of them were sitting in Jane's small apartment contemplating their next steps.

"Do you think we'll have to tell SHIELD about this?" Darcy asked after there had been too long a silence for her to bear.

"Thor will have to check in," Erik said. "He's part of the Avengers Initiative now and they will need to know how to contact him. I think it would probably be best if they knew Loki is here too."

"But won't they lock him up?" Ian asked. "I mean, he did cause a lot of damage in New York and even if Asgard has forgiven him, I doubt SHIELD will."

"I could speak to Director Fury," Thor said. "Explain the situation to them…"

"The minute you mentioned he's here, they'd come and take him away."

"But he's harmless now," Thor smiled. Loki snorted, still sulking, having yet said anything since the throne room. Thor laughed humourlessly. "Sorry, brother, but it _is_ true."

"The thing is, where is he going to stay while his 'trial period' is being carried out?" Erik asked. "Surely he can't be left on his own!"

"_He_ has a name," Loki finally said gruffly, arms crossed. He was pouting, he knew this. He couldn't care less what these mortals decided to do.

"_Loki_ could stay here," Jane said. "There's a spare bedroom. Well, I say bedroom, it's big enough to hold a bed…just. But it's currently filled with my equipment and paperwork, which can be moved to the lab. You know, just for a little while. In the mean time, Thor can test the waters with Director Fury, drop some subtle hints about Loki…"

Loki laughed out loud. "Ha! Thor? Subtle? He will be about as subtle as a bilgsnipe female in heat."

"Loki…" Thor warned.

"Forgive me, brother, but is this not all pointless?" Loki argued, standing up. "Whether I stay in this ridiculously small dwelling, or roam the streets, or am taken into custody by the so-called SHIELD, I will still be _here_!"

"Father is only trying to help you, Loki," Thor said with a frown. "He is hoping you will learn a thing or two about being a true King of Asgard."

"His reasoning is flawed! What is there for me to learn from these dull-witted creatures?"

"Hey!" Darcy interjected. "How about learning to be nice for a change?"

Loki shot her a look that said _'if only I had my magic, you would be ash right now'_. "I will not stand here and listen to you all prattle on like I am not even here. In fact, I am going to go for a walk to get some fresh air, if you could call it fresh here. The air itself smells rotten!" He stormed over to the door and yanked the handle.

"Wait!" came a chorus of multiple voices.

"What?" Loki sniped.

"You can't go out looking like that," Darcy said.

Loki raised an eyebrow. He looked at Thor, who had already changed into Midgardian clothing. "You mean this is not appropriate attire for walking the streets of London?" Loki asked with sarcastic amusement. The answer was obvious.

"Not without someone potentially recognising you and calling the cops," Darcy said. "Also, I mean, there are some weirdos out there, but they tend to only come out at night. Some do during the day, and no, it's not appropriate."

Loki looked at everyone, waiting for the next step. When no one said anything, he rolled his eyes. "So how do you propose we get the clothes we need if I am to remain hidden?"

Everyone in the room looked at each other, trying to think of a solution to their problem.

"Um," Ian broke through the tension raising his hand slowly. They all turned to look at him. "I worked a summer in a menswear department. I could…take some measurements and go get some things." Loki rolled his eyes. "Just a few things to outfit him, then he can go do his own shopping." Ian paused, obviously doing his best to word the next sentence carefully. "I would need you to…uh…take off the…leather though." He failed.

"Can't you just…guess?" Darcy asked, a devious smile on her face. "Look…" She took Loki by the arm and pulled him over to Thor and stood them side by side. Loki crushed the urge to slap her hand off his arm in annoyance and just let her, curious as to where this was leading. "See? Loki is almost the same height as Thor. But he's not as big and muscle-y." Loki bit his tongue to prevent his angry response at the blow to his ego.

"It's not that simple," Ian said with some confidence. That summer he must have picked up a lot and thought he was very good at his job. "Leg length, arm length, neck size. Slim fit, standard fit. Shoe size…"

"Okay, okay, Mr I-know-everything-about-men's-clothes," Darcy conceded. Loki thought he saw the glimmer of a newfound respect in the woman's eyes.

Ian turned to Loki. An unspoken question was asked. Loki shrugged and walked towards the bathroom. He heard Ian say something about calling him when he was ready, and in the interest of 'humility' he shut the door behind him.

He waved a hand and it stilled mid air. Loki had hoped his magic hadn't left him entirely, that the distance between Realms would have weakened the All-Father's power. But of course, he knew this was a foolish thought. Thor's power had only returned once he'd sacrificed himself. But had he not done the same for his brother and Jane? Odin had said he didn't _intend_ to sacrifice himself, but he _had_! What further lesson did he need to learn? He balled his hand into a fist and brought it down hard against the bathroom counter, testing his strength, but also to expel some frustration within him. The jarring blow only served to hurt his hand, no damage given to the marble surface.

Leaning on counter with both hands, he looked at himself in the mirror and was not surprised to find a tear rolling down his cheek. "Mother, give me strength," he muttered.

Wiping the tear away, he worked sluggishly to remove the various pieces of his leather ensemble. He was not as practiced at the manual removal of his _own_ armour; some of the clasps were in awkward places, usually either having to use his magic or a servant in the palace to reach them. He suddenly was horrified to think perhaps this is what Odin had meant. His skills did rely heavily on magic. He sighed. Perhaps he should call Ian in to help. He rejected the idea immediately. It was bad enough he was going to have to rely on the boy to 'take his measurements' and go shopping for him, like a mother would a child.

When he finally managed to get the armour off, it was much easier to remove the black undershirt and trousers. Standing in all his naked glory, he scrutinised himself in the mirror, thinking about Darcy's comment about his build. As he and Thor had grown up, he'd favoured training his mind and magical abilities than physically train. He had always relied on his cunning rather than physical prowess and this resulted in lean muscle rather than bulk. He'd always been teased for it, but had taken solace in knowing he could, if he wished, best them without even being in the room. They wouldn't call it honourable, but it would get the job done, and had done so in many fights with their enemies. And he was still a skilled fighter. He _had_ managed to fell several Frost Giants on their trip to Jotenheim after all, not to mention some of the other countless number of adventures they'd been on where magic had not been an immediate option.

Now, though, without his magic or natural Aesir strength, he was feeling especially vulnerable. He looked around the room for something to cover himself with and found a towel hanging on the back of the door. He wrapped it tightly around his waist before calling for Ian. Ian squeezed his way into the room opening the door as little as he possibly could to keep the privacy. He closed the door and turned to face him, looking a little nervous.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Don't worry," he moaned. "I'm not going to make this any more uncomfortable than it already is." He wondered why he was even bothering to go through this, but resigned himself to just get it over with.

With a gulp, Ian nodded and proceeded to take the measurements he needed, gently prompting Loki to lift his arms when necessary. After a few tense-filled moments, Ian had finished. "Well, I've got enough information now," he said standing up quickly. "I'll go now to get something. Do you have a colour scheme preference?"

Loki shrugged. "Whatever you think is best," he said in a bored manner but pleased it was over.

Ian nodded and left quickly. Loki didn't bother to get fully dressed again, only pulled on his trousers, and exited the bathroom. He grinned with mischief when Jane and Darcy came out of the smaller room with some boxes of lab equipment and nearly dropped them. Jane blushed pink and Darcy just looked unabashed.

"Nice, dude," she said appreciatively. "Maybe not as big and muscle-y, but definitely nothing to sneeze at."

Loki decided to take it as a compliment, even if Thor was chuckling under his breath knowingly.

* * *

Ian had been gone for a couple of hours, during which time it had been decided that it would be best for Thor and Loki to see SHIELD, all subtlety aside. Loki had not given any input, having made his dissatisfaction clear earlier, although his anger had dissipated. Jane and Thor continued to remove stuff from the spare room in case it was needed. She had been delighted when she exclaimed there _was_ a bed in the room under all her equipment.

When Ian returned, he hastily gave the items to the still naked-from-the-waist-up Loki and he was shown the bathroom again. Loki looked at each item, appraising them individually. Ian had managed to get a pair of black dress boots, a pair of black casual trousers, a two-pack of long sleeve shirts (one was light grey, the other was a mid-dark forest green), a black v-neck jumper, a couple of white t-shirts, socks, boxers and a long black coat. Loki didn't see anything wrong with anything and got dressed, choosing the green shirt, the top two buttons undone, but did not put on the jumper. He also decided to roll the sleeves of the shirt up to his elbows.

When he emerged from the bathroom, he was met with a wolf-whistle of approval from Darcy. "Looking good, dude! Very Jean Paul Gaultier!"

Loki found himself smiling at the second compliment from the woman, even though he didn't understand the reference. Everything fit him perfectly and Ian was beaming from his chair with pride for himself. "Yes, they are more than adequate," he said looking at Ian. The words 'thank you' died at his lips, not fully bringing himself to say them, but he nodded towards the young man.

"How are you both going to get to SHIELD?" Jane asked. "I mean, do they even have a base or something here in England?" She looked at Erik, who shrugged.

"Can't you just call the Avengers and, like, get the location of the nearest SHIELD agency or outpost or whatever?" Darcy asked wiggling her fingers towards the telephone.

"Yeah, because I've got Tony Stark and Bruce Banner on speed dial," Jane said sarcastically. "We're besties!"

"Actually, I have a contact there from when I worked for them," Erik suggested. "I'm sure if I mention Thor is back and how best to get a hold of Director Fury, at the very least if they're monitoring the emails, they'll be on us like that." He snapped his fingers for emphasis.

"Do it," Thor said.

* * *

And so after only a few hours after the email was sent, the knock came at the door. When opened, an agent introduced himself and said that he would accompany Thor to a private airfield where they would be taken to the nearest base, where Director Fury would be waiting. Upon seeing Loki, it took a few moments for recognition to kick in, but he had then pulled his gun yelling for everyone to get down.

"Dude, seriously!?" Darcy shouted when Thor had stepped in front of Loki to protect him and held a hand out for everyone to calm down.

"Do you really think we didn't notice him and he'd just appeared the second you happened to walk in here?" Jane argued, sternly. "No, he's been here a lot longer than you have!"

The agent lowered his gun warily and radioed to his partners to warn them of the situation. Other than that, the journey to the UK base was incident free. And the meeting with Director Fury took place relatively quickly. Apparently, the Helicarrier had been en route to Europe anyway, and took a diversion as soon as the email had been read.

Loki had been thoroughly searched before entering the base, and he was relieved of his coat. He had respectfully requested (through clenched teeth) that it not be damaged or lost as it was new. Then they were led to an office by several agents, including the Black Widow, Natasha Romanov, and Hawkeye, Clint Barton, who both kept very close eyes on Loki, hands held perpetually over their guns at all times. Here, Nick Fury had taken up temporary residence and was waiting for them. They entered and Fury motioned for the agents to leave. With trepidation, they looked at each other, but yielded.

Thor's entirely one sided conversation with Fury went better than Loki expected. The man with one eye had patiently listened to Thor babbling non-stop for fifteen minutes, hands folded at his chin, elbows propped on his desk, until Thor had trailed off, unsure what to say next.

"Okay."

Both Asgardians found Fury's lack of argument surprising. "Okay?" Thor repeated with doubt laced in his voice.

Fury stood up. He motioned with his hand and Agents Barton and Romanov entered the room. "What you are saying, amongst other things, is that Loki is just like any other human now. No magic powers, no super strength?"

Thor nodded. "As was I when I was first ban…sent here to learn my lesson."

Fury circled round Loki slowly. "Just a lowly human now," he mused to himself, but loud enough for Loki to hear. Loki frowned, but said nothing, knowing it would do him no good to get on this man's bad side. "I'd like to put that to the test," Fury said louder. "Your intellect is impressive of course, no-one doubts that, but how good would you be in a fight?"

"You want me to fight someone to prove that I lack the physical strength that I once possessed?" Loki asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Let's call it…therapy," Fury stated. "Agent Barton has a bone to pick with you, and I'm sure he would love nothing more than to see how much of a beating you can take."

Loki looked at Agent Barton, who was grinning sadistically. He remembered that he had apologised to Erik Selvig for what he had done, and he saw no reason to offer any less to the archer. "I agree," he said. It would be an interesting test for himself as well.

It didn't take very long for Loki to find himself in what appeared to be a training room with equipment of all sorts dotted around the room with a training mat central. Loki was told to stand on the mat and watched warily as Agent Barton joined him. The agent unclipped his weapons and muttered something about a 'fair fight'. Loki was acutely aware that other agents were filing into the hall to watch the fight. Either gossip had spread through the base, or Fury had ordered the audience.

Barton cracked his knuckles after he had shed his cumbersome quiver. "This is going to be fun," he smiled. "Nice shirt, by the way. Hope it doesn't stain."

Loki simply stood there expressionless as the man shifted from foot to foot. He was quietly confident that although he didn't have his superior strength, he should still have his quick reflexes and skill.

Fast as lightening, Barton made a move towards him. Loki almost didn't manage to dodge out of the way, and blocked a kick from the agent which came quickly after. A blow aimed for his face was successfully deflected with the crossing of his wrists and he pushed it away to land a blow himself in Barton's gut. Recovering quickly, Barton swept Loki off his feet and went in for a body slam. Loki managed to roll out of the way just in time, but Barton got up so quickly and threw a glancing blow across Loki's chin. It wasn't square enough, but Loki was still surprised by it.

The fight lasted for a good few minutes more, each one barely landing any hits, one occasionally gaining the upper hand, but losing it just as quickly. Loki was faintly aware that the crowd was shouting and cheering for Barton. In the back of his mind, Loki thought he and the Hawk were very evenly matched, but that he should probably swallow his own pride and let the man win. With that in mind, he 'missed' an opportunity and Barton lunged at him.

Loki made a show of trying to twist away, but was caught around his slim waist and dragged down onto the ground. There, Barton pinned him to the ground to wild cheers and straddled his hips. He grabbed the collar of Loki's shirt and punched him in the mouth. The force was jarring and Loki hit his head on the not-soft-enough mat. He saw the second punch coming, and let that one through as well, feeling his lip tear at the impact, but decided it was time to end the fight when Barton threw the third one. He caught Barton's fist in his hand and struggled to keep a hold of it, the two visibly shaking with the effort, Barton still trying to land the blow, Loki trying to prevent it. "I concede!" Loki hissed, struggling to breathe with Barton's weight on him.

"What was that?" Barton jeered.

"I said I concede!"

Barton narrowed his eyes and looked into Loki's, as if searching for something, then pulled his fist out of Loki's grip and slammed it against the ground next to his head. He lifted him slightly by the shirt collar and brought his face very close, a picture of anger. Loki thought he was about to head butt him. "I know you did that on purpose," he whispered so no one else could hear. "But don't think that means I immediately forgive you for what you made me do."

Loki nodded quickly and Barton let him go, getting up swiftly and grabbing his gear. Loki rolled onto his side and slowly hoisted himself up feeling slightly light headed. He noticed Fury watching him closely, Thor standing next to him looking sheepish, and the Black Widow with a smile she was trying failingly to hide. Holding back his anger at having to lower himself as even he felt was necessary, Loki tongued his bottom lip and tasted blood while the other agents congratulated Barton on his win.

Back in the office and with an ice pack held to his face, Loki listened from a chair in the corner as Fury and the others decided his fate.

"He's got a mean swing, I'll give him that," Barton said rolling his shoulder where Loki had managed to strike him. "But definitely not God-like strength. He might be good in the field, but I don't think anyone would trust him to have their back."

"I have no intentions of sending him into the field," Fury said at the desk. "In fact, I don't want him to leave this base any time soon." It was as Loki figured. He was to be a prisoner, if not in Asgard, here on Midgard. At this point, he still didn't care.

"There must be something that he can do," Thor prompted. "Something that will keep him out of trouble. He cannot just stay here. He will not learn anything."

"You said that your father sent him here with you to teach him a lesson," Fury said directing his question to Thor. "What sort of lesson would that be?"

"Loki has…issues," Thor said looking at his younger brother. Loki grinned sardonically and winced as the cut on his lip ached.

"Oh, no, don't say that! He's a ray of sunshine!" Barton quipped sarcastically.

"And they must weigh very heavily on him to have made him do what he did," Thor continued. "He felt his intentions were noble."

"So, what you're saying is he needs counselling." Fury wasn't really asking the question rather than stating an obvious fact. Fury looked at Barton, and an unseen understanding passed between them that worried Loki. Barton agreed with whatever he thought the Director had in mind.

"My lesson was that not everything can be solved with physical strength. I learned that by giving my life to protect the ones I hold dear and the Earth…"

"…From your maniac brother," Agent Romanov pointed out.

Thor continued, ignoring Black Widow's dig. "Perhaps it is as simple as learning that not everything requires deceit and lies. To trust others around him."

"Do I not get a say in any of this?" Loki asked.

"No," said everyone else in the room.

"I'm going to suggest that if Loki is to remain on Earth that he stay here, under our supervision," Nick said sitting at his desk. "But if we are going to go down the path of rehabilitation, that I know a damn good psychologist on SHIELD's payroll and recommend 2 sessions a week."

Loki looked confused. "And what, pray tell, does a psychologist do?"

Fury smiled, and it was unnerving. "They get into your mind and help you to reconsider how you think about things."

The irony was not lost on Loki and he could see Barton trying not to laugh.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

I would love to hear what you think. Please leave a review! What part of this chapter made you laugh, made you mad, bored you...it all helps me to adapt the story to your liking. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Hi. Just like to thank everyone who has followed and reviewed this story so far! You're all awesome!

You may have noticed that this fic is from Loki's POV only. It doesn't switch from person to person, because I thought that would be quite interesting. I hope everyone is happy with that.

Now, in this chapter, we introduce my OC. :)

Own nothing but my OC!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Loki had been shown to his new lodgings within the SHIELD compound. His room was minimalist and not to his liking. The walls were white, the carpet was grey, the bedding was white and grey and the only hint of colour was when he slung his green shirt over the back of the grey chair that sat in front of a white desk. The bathroom was just as white and grey and boring.

He was given level one clearance. That meant he could walk around the building and outside, but a lot of the doors he tried to get through were barred to him. In fact, the only rooms he had access to were the canteen, the outside courtyard, the training room and his own room. To his dismay, the compound did not have any sort of entertainment except for a television in a room just off the canteen, which mostly showed the news. When he asked if there was a library, the answer was that everything was 'online'. He had no idea what that meant, so he spent most of his time sitting in his room.

At some point the following day, someone knocked on his door and when he opened it, there was an agent holding a large box with his name on it. "This was sent to you from Thor," the agent said.

Loki took the box, went back into his room, not bothering to say thank you, and closed the door. He placed the box on the desk. It had already been opened; no doubt so that the agents could make sure there was nothing in it that could be considered a threat. He pulled the tabs aside and a smile tugged at his lips.

Loki pulled out several books and the extra clothing that Ian had purchased for him. He laughed mordantly at the grey shirt. "Well, at least I'll match my dwellings," he said ruefully to himself. Underneath those were his Asgardian clothes. He snorted and closed the box without taking them out. He wouldn't need _them_ any time soon. He placed the box inside his built in wardrobe and put the rest of his clothes away. Since it was only a few items, it didn't take long.

The hours passed slowly for Loki as he waited to be told if there was anything he should be doing. He had been told that as soon as the psychologist was available, he'd be notified. He wandered aimlessly around the compound, hardly talking to anyone because they all avoided him like a plague. At one point he'd been walking down the hall and a young woman had stopped in front of him with a gasp, her eyes wide with terror and attempted to quickly step around him, only for him to try stepping out of _her_ way in the same direction. They both sidestepped again, still in each other's way. The girl looked as if she were about to faint after the third attempt and he grabbed her by the shoulders, swinging them around, and stalked off on his way, missing the woman leaning on the wall with a sigh of relief.

He occasionally found himself in the training room where he and Barton had scrapped and watched the other agents exercise their bodies, ready for any potential physical threats. A few of them would stop their training and look at him nervously, as if they were expecting him to attack them, but he had no desire to do any such thing. When he got bored, he would take a book into the canteen and read alone for several hours until they told him the lights were going out. Then he would wander back to his room and sleep fitfully, haunted by his nightmares.

He would run into Agent Barton a few times, slowly realising this was not coincidence, that Barton was his SHIELD appointed babysitter, although largely, the agent kept a good distance. Loki hardly ever felt like he was being followed.

"Do you not feel this is a waste of your skills, looking after me?" Loki had asked one day after he'd attempted to enter a room for level five and above, purely out of boredom to see what would happen. Barton had come up behind him, but he had sensed the man was there. He didn't need magic for that.

"In a way," the Hawk had said, dismissing the other agents who had accumulated to stop Loki's entry, their guns at the ready. "But making sure that you really aren't up to something and getting to stop you by _any means necessary_ if you are is something I would take great pride in doing." Loki had rolled his eyes and continued on his way.

Less than a week later, however, he was having some lunch, reading his book when a young man sat opposite him and plonked a large organiser on the table.

"Hi, Loki?" the man asked with a smile on his face. The man had a British accent like most of the agents around the base, floppy light brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He was slim built and Loki guessed not as tall as he was. He wore casual dress, similar to Loki's own and he mildly wondered if Ian had dressed him too.

"Loki, my name is Daniel Atwell. Doctor Daniel Atwell. I was called in at Director Fury's request?" Loki raised an eyebrow, barely looking up from the book. "I was told you knew I was coming?" the doctor said. "To…to have some sessions with you to discuss any issues you may be having?"

"My issue at the moment is that you are disturbing my lunch," Loki said in a low, uninterested voice. He licked a finger and turned the page before spooning a bit of cold pasta into his mouth and chewing slowly, deliberately.

"That's ok," Daniel said brightly. He opened his organiser and pulled out a tablet PC. "You carry on and I'll just do some work until you are finished." He dropped his eyes to the device and began doing something Loki knew not what. He didn't care either, although his attention was now divided between the mindless eating of the food, the now uninteresting piece of Midgardian literature and the somewhat new and interesting distraction in front of him.

The doctor was fresh faced, very young looking, wearing some hideous glasses on his nose, dark rimmed and didn't suit him at all. His hair, whilst having the look of being brown was slightly golden without being blonde. His skin was pale, but not unhealthily. His eyes were blue, but looked…unnatural. Loki narrowed his eyes slightly at this, but moved on. The shirt the doctor was wearing was a dark cream and his trousers, Loki thought he'd glanced before he sat down, were a dark brown. Peeking under the table from the bottom of the book, the doctor's shoes were brown as well. Clearly this man favoured natural earth colours, much like Loki did, although he preferred greens. And while the doctor wore no other jewellery, there was one plain gold band on his right middle finger. From what Loki recalled about Midgardian cultures, this was not a wedding band, or if it was, it was not worn on the correct hand or finger. The ring had a small bright purple stone embedded into it.

Loki, finishing his appraisal of the young man and now bored, slammed his book shut making the other jump slightly. He pushed his plate away and went to stand up.

"Oh good, you're finished," Daniel said. Loki rolled his eyes, something he'd been doing a lot lately, and went to leave, but stopped short when he saw Barton at the door, watching them. Barton shook his head at Loki and Loki sighed loudly. He turned back around and slumped into his chair.

"Shall we try again?" the doctor asked with that same idiotic smile on his face. "I'm Doctor Daniel Atwell. You can call me Dan, or Daniel, or Doctor Atwell if you like, whatever you feel comfortable with." He held a hand out for Loki to shake in typical Midgard greeting. Loki glanced at Agent Barton and since the man was still standing there, he grabbed Daniel's hand in a quick acknowledgement of the custom.

"This won't be our normal meeting place," Daniel said picking the tablet up from its perched position. "They're setting up a consulting room for me. So from next session in a couple of days, we'll meet in there." He leaned forward. "Are you comfortable here for this first session, or would you rather we went somewhere else? Your room perhaps? Or the gardens at the back, although it is a bit chilly this time of year and it's raining." Loki said nothing and yet the doctor still insisted on that infuriating smile. "I must say it's an honour to meet you," Daniel said. "Out of all the Norse gods I read about when I was a child, your stories intrigued me the most."

That made Loki pay attention. "Were they now?"

Daniel nodded. "Oh yes. I would love to know how much of it is real and how much was fiction."

That got Loki going. In reading the Midgardian stories about him, he was surprised how much of it was pure unadulterated nonsense and he spent the next hour explaining this to the sandy-haired man. And while he was sitting paying all the attention to Loki, he could see the doctor tapping on his tablet-thing.

"And despite what is written, I did not barge my way into that feast and insult everyone. I had been invited and Fandral started everything off by insulting Freya saying that she is less than a lady in the bedroom. I tried to protect her honour by pointing out that Fandral had drunkenly mistaken a mule for a lover one night and from there the whole evening just erupted into chaos!"

"So, you're saying that incident was nothing to do with you?" Daniel asked. "You were not even in the slightest to blame?"

Loki smirked. "Well, perhaps Fandral had been fairly quiet on the matter and I was a bit louder than I should have…" Loki suddenly realised that the doctor was still tapping away at his tablet. "What _are_ you doing?"

Daniel looked up from his work. "Making notes."

"To correct all your mistaken literature?" Loki asked.

"Don't worry about the notes, Loki. You just carry on talking."

Loki stood up. "I know what you are doing," he growled. "Fury said you get inside heads."

Daniel looked up at Loki and lifted his glasses off his nose and propped them on top of his head. "Well, it's not so much I get inside of your head as you tell me what you're feeling and we try to work out together what problems you're having and at the same time see how we can help you to work through those issues to get you to the point where you don't need to see me anymore."

"And how long will that take?"

"That depends on how much you tell me."

Loki glanced over to where Barton had been, but noticed he was gone. No longer under the impression he had to stay, Loki stalked towards the exit. He didn't bother to see if the doctor was following and walked as quickly as he could to his room.

* * *

A couple of days later, Loki was escorted to a different part of the building, where he was normally not allowed to go, and taken to nicely furnished office.

There was a desk in front of a large bookcase, a plush looking couch against a wall and a single chair in the middle of the room facing said couch. There were inspiring pictures on the walls, certificates with the doctor's name on them and books…lots and lots of books. Loki wandered over to the bookshelf for a closer inspection.

A few minutes later, Daniel entered the room. "Sorry, sorry, I know I'm a bit late," he said dumping his organiser on the desk. "My clearance for this base hadn't been fully approved." He seemed ruffled. "Thank you, Agent Barton." Barton nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Daniel went over to see what Loki was looking at, pushing his glasses up onto his head as Loki had noticed him do last time. Loki also noticed he had been correct in thinking the doctor was shorter than him, at least 3 inches. "Anything I can help you with?"

Loki ignored the doctor in favour of pulling a few books of interest off the shelf and going to sit on the couch with them. He opened one of the books and began 'reading', but also observed the other man covertly. Today, the doctor was wearing a dark purple shirt, dark grey trousers and black shoes, a stark contrast against his pale skin.

Daniel pulled out his damnable tablet and sat on the chair by the couch facing Loki. "So, how are we today?" Loki ignored him pointedly. "Done anything interesting since our last session?" Loki still was silent. He was pleased to see the smile that usually was plastered to Daniel's face wavered slightly. He also noticed the man still had his glasses on the top of his head.

Daniel cleared his throat. "Not talkative today, huh?" Loki continued to pretend to read. "That's ok," Daniel said looking down at the tablet. He tapped away. "Would it be okay if I told you why I think you're here?" Still nothing. "Well, according to what I could gather from our last talk, in no particular order; psychopathy, borderline personality disorder, narcissistic tendencies…"

Loki snapped the book shut. "Assumptions! How could you possibly have gleaned any of that information from our previous session? All I did was tell you which of your mythological stories are incorrect and which are correct. I told you nothing about myself."

Daniel smiled slyly. "I'm just that good," he said conspiratorially. "But, if you would indulge me?" Loki waved a hand dismissively but didn't say anything further. "Psychopathy: defined as a personality disorder characterised by enduring antisocial behaviour, diminished empathy and remorse and uninhibited behaviour. Case in point; you display many of the recognised character traits of being a psychopath. Mainly, manipulation and cunning, failure to accept responsibility for one's own actions, pathological lying, denial, lack of remorse, callousness, poor…"

Loki stood up suddenly stepping towards the doctor. If the doctor truly thought him a psychopath, he was treading dangerous waters by pointing out the fact, but Loki held back his anger. "You speak as if those are bad. Manipulation and cunning are required to remain ahead of one's enemies. I may hide my plans from others, telling them only what they need to hear, but I would hardly call that lying. I am perfectly capable of speaking truthfully. I am capable of feeling remorse, but I would need to care about something enough in the first place, therefore I cannot be callous about everything. And failure to accept responsibility for my own actions?" He was right in front of Daniel now, pleased to see he was nervous. "I can accept the things that I do. It is the doings of others that I. Cannot. Abide by!" He accepted that he was labelled as the Trickster God, Liesmith, Silvertongue because of his mischievous nature, but he truly believed everything he did was not as bad as some would believe. And his anger towards his so-called family was motivated by the untruth he had discovered, that his _father_ had been keeping from him all his life; that he would never have been King of Asgard, but of a frozen wasteland he despised.

He was leaning on the arms of the chair Daniel was sitting in, his face very close to the other, who was leaning back as far as he could. Loki looked into Daniel's wide eyes. He saw something in them that he put away for later and he smirked.

"…b…behavioural controls," Daniel stuttered, as continuation to his earlier list. Loki's grin disappeared.

A knock on the door broke the tension. "Doctor? Are you ok?" Agent Barton enquired. "Do you need assistance?"

"Do I?" Daniel asked Loki quietly. Loki grimaced and stood up straight, going back to the couch. "No, everything's fine, Agent," he said louder. "You shouldn't be listening so carefully at the door, these are private sessions." He grinned at Loki, who was annoyed that the earlier worry had disappeared from the doctor's visage. But he had to admit to himself, he was very intrigued by the man in front of him.

* * *

"This…doctor," Loki started to Agent Barton the next day in the training room. "He is nothing short of infuriating."

"Why? Just because he got you to open up a bit?" Barton asked, his bow and arrow poised for a shot. The arrow was unleashed and of course, hit the dummy straight in the eye.

"He didn't get me to _open up_," Loki grumbled, arms folded. "He made wild assumptions based on my correction of your stupid Midgardian scholars' wild accusations. I birthed an eight-legged horse as a mare? Please! That was a rumour started by Thor! The great oaf."

"I'll bet he's absolutely hit the nail on the head though. The Doc's good," Barton said loosing another arrow on the dummy. The second arrow split the first right down the middle. "He helped me get through my issues. You know, after you took control of my mind and got me to attack and kill my own people?" Four more arrows whizzed through the air in quick succession. Loki had the distinct feeling that Barton saw the dummy in his likeness. "And I'm fine now."

"Clearly," Loki scoffed.

Barton lowered his bow and looked like he was debating with himself. "He helped me to see that there was nothing I could do while I was under your thrall, and that I shouldn't blame myself too much, but that my guilt was justified, and that I needed to forgive myself." Barton slung his bow over his shoulder and looked Loki in the eyes. "He's the reason I can stand here now and not beat the shit out of you. I _have_ forgiven myself."

Loki's lip tingled where Barton had punched him when he first arrived. He knew Barton had been holding back when they'd fought before; Barton was testing him and would have increased his skill as necessary. And Loki had known Barton's mind when under his thrall. It had linked him to his head and his heart, so Loki knew Barton's past, and his secrets; secrets not even his closest friends knew about. He therefore knew that what he just told with him was massively uncharacteristic of him. "Why would you share that with me?" Loki asked, suspicious.

Barton smiled sadly. "Let's just say; the thing that linked us together while I was under your control…it worked both ways." Loki was shocked. He hadn't realised this. Barton must have read his surprise. "Calm down, Sunshine. Don't think that means I know all your secrets. If I had known anything useful, I would have given the info to SHIELD already. I only got a few titbits. Your mind was a mess; I couldn't make head nor tail of a lot of the things I saw, but something that I did get from you was that you don't usually want help from anyone; you loathed needing our help to get what you required and it wasn't just because we're lowly mortals." Barton paused. "And I was the same. It took an order from SHIELD to make me get the help." Barton put a hand on Loki's shoulder. "But you have to let this doctor help you now, otherwise you're never going to get better. And probably never be able to move on, or go home."

Loki opened his mouth, unable to believe what Barton had just said. But it was true. Loki had fended for himself quite a bit in his life, and would never have admitted he needed help. But, on this occasion, he knew that not getting the help was the difference between leaving Midgard to become a king and spending the rest of his mortal life here, all for the sake of his pride.

It would take time though. He wasn't sure he could just open up to the doctor. But, he could make a start with Clint Barton. "I am truly sorry for what I did," Loki said sincerely. "Even if you don't believe it. And I fully understand that you will never forgive me. At least know that."

And Barton smiled back at him, without malice or contempt. "Then that's a step in the right direction for you, Sunshine."

Loki suddenly had a thought. "So, you saw this doctor for a while…tell me something; did he always wear those glasses of his on top of his head?"

* * *

"Perhaps a direct question would yield a better answer," Daniel said rubbing his eyes after yet another session where Loki had deflected all queries and explanations. "Do you feel that the subject of your parentage is a painful one?"

"Yes," Loki answered, deciding to throw the man a bone, remembering what Agent Barton had told him a few days ago. He'd been deliberately dodging the questions for nearly the whole session now, mainly out of boredom, and he'd been finding it immensely satisfying.

Daniel looked surprised, not at the response, but that he had gotten a response that simple. "So you admit that talking about it makes you feel…?"

"Violated." Loki threw the doctor his trademark smirk. He knew it was not the answer the doctor was looking for.

"So, you liken my asking questions about your past to a violation of your mind? And yet you took over the minds of at least three people. Do you not feel that that was a violation for them?"

Loki's smile vanished. This man had an answer for everything!

* * *

They were on their 5th session and Loki thought he was definitely getting to the doctor, wearing his patience thin. Loki was also feeling frustrated. He just couldn't get to the point where he felt he could tell the doctor anything, despite Barton's pep talk. In fact, the archer had all but yelled at Loki this morning to '_pull his finger out'_ and '_stop acting like a pissy emo teen'_. But Loki had simply huffed at him and told him to mind his own business, to which Barton had emphatically replied it _was_ his business because the sooner Loki got the hell off of Earth, the sooner he could return to regular duties.

"Loki, we're here to try and help you, but you have to properly open up to me," Daniel said softly from his chair. "Our last session was almost completely silent." His glasses, Loki saw, were still perched on top of his head.

Loki leaned forwards. "Tell me something, doctor," he started with mischief on his mind. "How do you expect me to tell you my secrets, when you won't reveal any of your own?"

"Everyone has secrets, Loki," Daniel said. "But most secrets don't weigh so heavily on a person that it drives them to act the way you have." Loki leaned back, and folded his arms, looking away, ready for another session of silence.

Daniel sighed. It wasn't the first time Loki heard it, but this one peaked his interest as he sensed it might go somewhere. "I'll tell you what. I'll tell you one of my secrets, and then you can share something about your past. Deal?" Loki shrug was non-committal. "Ok, here goes…" There was a deafening pause. Loki was metaphorically on the edge of his seat, the anticipation gnawing at him. But on the outside, he merely turned to look at the young man.

Daniel leaned forwards. "I'm gay," he whispered.

Loki's head dropped with frustration. It was not what he was expecting. Then he felt slightly confused. "What does that mean?" he asked, genuinely not knowing what the doctor meant and guessing it meant something other than 'happy'.

Daniel laughed with surprise. "You don't know what it means?" Loki shook his head. "It means…I like men." Loki stared, confusion still behind his eyes. "It means I prefer the company of men to that of women." Loki was still drawing a blank. Daniel sighed. "In sexual terms."

Loki got that. He was decidedly still disappointed. "Why is that such a secret?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's not always well received information. Most religious sects deem the act of sleeping with another man is an abomination for many reasons, mostly because it's not possible to breed. It's unnatural and people are shunned from society as a result. To reveal oneself is to put oneself in the line of fire for abuse." Daniel paused. "What do _you_ think?"

Loki leaned back, placing an arm along the top of the couch. "I think _that_ is not a secret. It is of no consequence who one lays with. On Asgard, it is not 'unnatural', although yes, it does not serve the purpose for procreation. It's more for fun. I myself have lain with a few men in my time, both mortal and Aesir."

If that surprised the doctor, it didn't show. "So, to you, the fact that men lay with other men for fun means that my burdensome secret is not actually that burdensome?"

"Exactly," Loki said with a devious smile. He had the doctor on the ropes.

"Then why would you think that any of your own secrets would be any less received by me?"

Loki nearly hurled a book at the doctor's head.

* * *

Loki was pacing up and down the small consulting room in their next session. He had decided that since it appeared that the doctor knew how to side step his every attempt at subterfuge and get closer to leaving Loki without any defences, it was time to come clean on one issue.

"I found out that I am not actually of Asgard, but another Realm called Jotunheim, the land of the Frost Giants."

"And how did that make you feel?"

"Angry. So very angry. I had always felt that I didn't belong, but had no idea as to why."

"Did your adoptive parents and brother not make you feel loved?"

Loki laughed contemptuously, but then stopped, really thinking about it. Until he had found out who he really was, he hadn't really felt unloved. The All-Father had been very busy, but hadn't intentionally showed any favour to Thor, not that he had seen anyway. And as for Frigga…oh how he missed her now.

He slumped on the couch and put his hands to his face to cover any potential emotion from actually showing, not realising the action itself was an indicator. His mother had shown great interest in him. When she could see him struggle to keep up physically with the other children in their training, she had taught him the ways of Magic, something that no other man on Asgard had the privilege of knowing. He had been teased mercilessly for it, but still considered it a great gift. And to get back at his brother and other friends for the jest, he pulled pranks, which were not always severe; some were even shared as a great joke.

He brought his hands away from his face and stared at his palms. A slow shift of one of his hands confirmed Frigga's gift was still not with him. He placed his palms together and pressed two fingers to his lips in contemplation. He glanced at Daniel, who was looking at him expectantly. "They did, in their own ways."

Daniel smiled. "There," he whispered triumphantly. "We have a breakthrough."

* * *

A/N: There you go. If you've read this far, I'm hoping you aren't disappointed that my OC is male, but hopefully you've given him a chance. Please leave me a review if you like Daniel so far. We learn a lot more about him, but remember, this whole fic is from Loki's POV.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi. Just like to thank everyone who has followed and reviewed this story so far! You're all awesome! I'm really glad you like Daniel. He is about to become profoundly more interesting (well, to Loki, anyway...and hopefully you guys).

Own nothing but my OC!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_Loki watched Thor land on Stark's Tower below him. "Loki! You turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it!"_

_"You can't!" Loki sneered. "There is no stopping it," he said triumphantly, the Other's words still echoing in his ears. "There is only the war!"_

_"So be it," Thor mumbled sadly._

_Loki attacked with swift moves, parrying blows from Mjolnir but taking a fair few hits from Thor's fists. The Quinjet was a meagre distraction, and he blasted it with the sceptre, but this opened him up to further relentless attacks from his brother. One such hit caused a wound above his left eye and knocked the control of the Chitauri sceptre from his mind._

_"Look at this!" Thor shouted in a break in the fight seeming to sense a change in him. "Look around you! You think this madness will end with your rule?"_

_Loki looked at the destruction and army flying around. "It's too late! It's too late to stop it."_

_"No," Thor said. "We can…together."_

_"_**Such foolish sentiment**_," the Other whispered to him, Loki feeling the control returning. He pulled a blade from hiding, stabbing Thor in the ribs. _

_"Sentiment," he echoed with a smile._

* * *

"I keep having these nightmares," Loki said in another session after yet another sleepless night, "about the attack on Midgard."

"Guilt can manifest itself in many ways," the doctor said mirroring Loki's soft voice. "Some people have nightmares. Others get physically ill…"

"These don't feel like nightmares though, they are…memories." Loki looked at the doctor. It was time to speak up about something he hadn't admitted to anyone and was evident that even Barton hadn't gotten from their link. "I…I was not acting alone, of course, during the attack. But I felt like my actions were only partially my own. While I had Agent Barton and several others under the control of the Chitauri sceptre, I too was being influenced." He briefly told the doctor about his fall from the bridge, floating in the void, being found by the Other, how weak he'd felt and how enticing an offer had been given to him.

"Have you told this to anyone else?"

"I did not." Loki stood up and began pacing slowly, a habit he seemed to have acquired since his powers were taken. "As you said when we first met; I appear to blame others for my actions. If I had said any such thing about…well…I didn't think anyone would have believed..."

_"Who showed you this power? Who controls the would-be king?"_

_"Your actions, your mistakes, were not well thought out, and perhaps in some ways, not even your own."_

Loki shook his head at the words of his brother and father. Perhaps they would have…

"Your nature catches up to you," the doctor said. "Have you heard about the boy who cried wolf?"

Loki nodded remembering reading the story as a child, a special book his mother had given to him as a present when she had visited Midgard. "I understand your analogy." He guessed the doctor was saying his life of lying meant people would not believe him when he _did_ tell the truth.

The doctor nodded. "And feeling guilty is natural. You did do some awful things. People died. But, your nightmares will fade when you have forgiven yourself."

Loki recalled Agent Barton telling him this is what the doctor told him during his therapy. He also remembered the flight of arrows into the training dummy as he spoke, thinking that Barton still had a way to go. But if that man could do it, then maybe so could he.

* * *

It was their 8th session and Loki had opened up about almost everything else that he felt about his situation, including why he was even there in the first place, if only to get everything, well, mostly everything, out in the open and let the doctor sort it all out. He _needed_ to make progress!

But he had started to go stir crazy. Although, Thor had been to visit on several occasions to see how he was and, after much negotiation with Fury about letting him off-base, had taken him back to see Jane and the others, and out and about in London. The local library had been a huge disappointment to Loki, obviously comparing it to the one in Asgard, but it suited his needs, taking out as many books as Jane and Darcy's combined library cards would allow to keep him occupied. They had even bought him some things to go in his room after he'd complained how white and grey it all was. He had new trousers and shirts, although he had declined to wear jeans. He preferred to look smart casual. He'd even had a haircut. It was still long at the back, but 'tamer' as Jane had pointed out, and reminded Loki of how he'd usually worn it before he had fallen from the Rainbow Bridge.

But now, he decided to act on something he'd been observing in Doctor Atwell. It was time to satisfy his curiosity, and he was absolutely sure he was going to rile this young, apparently unflappable, doctor.

"Do you fear me, doctor?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Hmmm."

Daniel looked up from his tablet to raise a quizzical eyebrow at Loki, who was grinning like a madman. "Why do you ask that?"

"I get the feeling that even though I am technically mortal now and don't possess my magic or strength that you know I could dominate you in an instant." Loki chuckled. "And that frightens you. Or perhaps even arouses you."

Daniel laughed, scratching his cheek briefly. "I think you're seeing things in me that simply don't exist."

Loki pursed his lips together and then laughed mirthfully. "Perhaps, perhaps. Speaking of things that don't exist…" He looked at the door, wondering if Agent Barton was listening in closely. He'd been assured by both the doctor and Nick Fury that their conversations were confidential and that the doctor only had to report his findings on Loki's mental health, not the nature of the issues themselves. He decided to go for it. "…you're not from around here, are you?"

Daniel made no indication that Loki's question was in any way surprising. "Well, I wasn't born in London, if that's what you mean. I'm actually from a more Southern region of England known as Surrey…"

"No, no, no," Loki said shaking his head. "Where are you really from?"

Now the doctor frowned. "I'm…not sure what you…"

Loki stood up and sauntered over to the chair and leaned in, as he had done all those sessions ago to get a good look into the doctor's eyes, his hands leaning on the arms of the chair, effectively trapping the doctor on his seat. "You have glasses, which you seem to assume fools me into thinking you have need of them, but you hardly ever use them. Most of the time you simply leave them on the top of your head, except when you enter or leave this room. In addition, they don't have any magnification. The lenses are simply glass, which makes me think they are merely subterfuge…a layer to stop people getting a good look at your eyes."

He leaned in closer. The doctor was _now_ visibly shaken and tried to slide the glasses onto his nose, but Loki grabbed them and slung them across the room. He then grabbed the doctor's face by the chin to keep him in place when Daniel had turned to look away. "I can also see that you are wearing contact lenses. Now, I am no expert although I have learned a few things about Midgard since arriving that used to be complete drivel to me. But your situation had me intrigued, so I was taken to a library during one of my outings with Thor and took out several books on various subjects to do with the eyes. Once I figured out that your glasses must be for show only, I wondered why you wore lenses. I thought maybe you really do need glasses but chose instead to wear lenses, but then when adding the extra layer _of_ the glasses, I realised that it is just yet another deception…"

"Please stop," Daniel begged shutting his eyes.

"…to keep unsuspecting people from knowing of the condition you have…"

"Stop," the doctor said with more urgency.

"…that you are from another world. A world that became extinct over six hundred years ago in the blink of an eye! Whose main difference in the people compared to that of any other species in the universe is the colour of their eyes!"

"I said stop!" Daniel shouted pushing Loki out of the way standing up sharply.

Agent Barton burst through the door with his gun raised, immediately pointing it at Loki when he saw the ruffled doctor and Loki standing so close to him. "Step away, Sunshine!" Barton warned.

"No, no, it's okay," Daniel said wiping his forehead with the palm of his hand. Loki had put his hands up defensively and taken a step away anyway. "It's just a misunderstanding."

Barton didn't look convinced, but put his gun away. When he looked at Loki, the ex-god shrugged with a wry grin on his face. "Do you want to end the session early?" he asked the doctor.

Loki glanced at the doctor, and he could see him seriously considering it. But with a withering sigh, the doctor declined. Barton gave Loki a look that said '_I'm watching you, Sunshine', _as well as pointing two fingers at his eyes and then at Loki before leaving. Once the door closed, Daniel went over and retrieved his glasses. He was about to put them on his face, then thought better of it. He tossed them onto his desk.

"I'm not from another world," came the eventual reply. "I have a rare genetic mutation called Alexandria Genesis, which means I have strangely coloured eyes." He dug into his organiser and pulled out a contact lenses container. He opened the two small wells and then put his hand to his face. Loki couldn't see exactly what he was doing, but when the doctor turned around, Loki could clearly see bright purple irises.

Loki stood up and stepped slowly towards the young man. "May I?" he asked when he saw the look of worry. The doctor nodded and Loki came in for a closer inspection. The sight was quite captivating. Daniel's irises had dark plum rings on the outside, and the inside swirled with iridescent violet. Loki's breath was momentarily taken from him. He could almost see into stars from another world and threatened to get lost. Loki didn't even realise he'd brought a hand up to the doctor's face, brushing his cheek lightly until Daniel put his hands against Loki's chest and pushed him away slightly, turning his head. The spell was broken, but the image was not lost to Loki. He smiled down at the sandy haired man, and then turned away. "It's a human mutation, but not one that originated on Midgard," Loki said, confident his knowledge was not flawed.

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked whilst turned away, putting his lenses back in.

"Are you sure your parents are human?"

"Of course," Daniel said confidently.

"Have you investigated your strange heritage?"

Daniel opened his mouth and then shut it again, pondering his next line. "Not…entirely."

"Is that because you encountered a surprising lack of information on the subject?" Loki asked, his voice light and with false concern.

"There's only been one other case as far as I can find. In the 14th century, a woman named Alexandria in London was said to have eyes like mine. I can trace my roots back to her."

"The 14th century…" Loki mused out loud. "That was about 600 years ago, was it not?"

Daniel sat at his chair _behind _his desk. Loki took this as strange behaviour, as if the doctor was trying to get as far away from him as possible. "Closer to seven. 685 years, to be exact. It was 1329 when it was documented."

"She wasn't human."

It was Daniel's turn to laugh. "That's ridiculous. And how would you know?"

"Because I am over a thousand years old. I have knowledge about this universe the likes of which your scholars and scientists could ever dream of. I have seen worlds burned and species lost through war, including your own."

"I am human," Daniel said with quiet ire.

"Yes, for the most part. But tell me something, doctor; when was the last time you got sick?"

Daniel looked up to the ceiling, thinking. He thought for a good few moments, his face scrunching with almost imperceptible confusion when he found the answer and looked at Loki with surprise. "I…I've never been…" He stopped short.

Loki smiled. "So you see, even you must realise that this is a rare thing for a human to _never_ get sick. Your planet is rife with disease." Loki stood up and wandered over to the desk and absently ran a finger over the smooth surface absently checking for dust. "I will tell you about yourself, doctor. Things that might make sense to you once you are in the know."

Daniel shook his head. "Enough about me, Loki. I am not a hybrid of some long forgotten race from another planet or dimension or whatever you want to call it. I am a human who happens to have purple eyes. And as inconvenient and traumatising as it was years ago when it manifested, I have made do, learned to deal with it and moved on. And that is what you should be moving towards. Acceptance of the things _you_ cannot change."

"Doctor," Loki started with a frown, but the man held a hand up to silence him.

"I am here to help _you_, not the other way around, Loki. Now sit down so we can continue with our session!"

Loki bit the inside of his cheek to stop from saying anything further. He turned on his heel and walked slowly over to the couch. Loki turned to look over his shoulder at the doctor, who had put his head in his hands, clearly shaken by the conversation they'd just had. "I'm sorry," he said.

Daniel put his palms flat to the desk, but still exasperated. "It's ok," he breathed. "Just… sit down."

* * *

Thor looked at Loki with wide eyes. "Could it be true, brother? Could the Yurians still live in the doctor you see?"

Loki nodded. "I have little doubt. When you took me to the library earlier, I looked in every book I could find on the subject of what he described as a 'genetic mutation'. He was correct that there has only been one case, and the timing is perfect. The Chitauri wiped out the Yurians in a single day almost to the year that the first case of the Alexandria Genesis was documented. If somehow the Yurians found a way to this world…"

"Claris was decimated and the Yurians did not have the means to travel to Midgard without going through Asgard. How would it be possible that a single Yurian could have found her way there without Heimdall knowing of her passage through our borders?"

"I don't know," Loki admitted frustrated. "One must assume that she found a way to shield herself from his watchful eyes, although one would have to wonder why she wouldn't have sought help from Asgard." He growled. "Damn their pride!" Loki began to pace up and down biting absently on his thumb nail. He had some sudden inspiration. "I need that book from the palace library. Could you get it for me?"

Thor looked apprehensive. "You know Father has forbidden that you have access to anything from Asgard."

"But if you explained the situation," Loki explained walking up to him and placing his hands upon his brother's shoulders. "This is the last of a race that was thought to have died out. A great loss to the likes of Asgard and Alfheim, ripping asunder a centre of cultural magnificence. That..."

"Their world had no hope against any attack," Thor interrupted bluntly and shrugged away from Loki. "You know this! They were blinded by their higher purpose, to acquire knowledge and not making time to protect themselves," Thor all but berated the long-dead race. "You yourself agreed with me when Mother convinced Father to visit them to encourage them to prepare themselves for potential war. They felt above the need for war, and therefore did not see themselves a target."

"Be that as it may," Loki continued through clenched jaws, "I feel that we should be looking at the possibility that this doctor could be of great importance to Asgard in the future. The Yurians may not have had war-like tendencies, but they were far ahead in terms of greater understanding and knowledge that would benefit a great many worlds. This is why they were attacked by the Chitauri! _He_ wanted that knowledge, but it was lost with their overly heavy handed attack." On the advice of the doctor, Loki had confirmed to his brother that he had been, in fact, under the control of someone the Other had only referred to as _He_ or _Him_. Thor had been gracious, and Loki felt for once that he was on the road to recovery after that. "The doctor may have some ancient knowledge buried in his mind…"

"Knowledge is not instinct," Thor said. "It has to be learned. Mother's magic skills were not passed to me by her birthing me. _You _learned them by studying."

"What if there are others, hm?" Loki asked. "Scattered around the realms…?"

"Enough, Loki," Thor said gently coming over and looking into Loki's eyes. "Why is this so important to you? I have not seen you this insistent about something since…" Thor's eyes widened, a smile coming to his face.

"No! No," Loki said warningly, knowing his brother had completely the wrong idea, shaking his head.

Thor laughed. "You like him!"

"No, I don't!" Loki denied putting a hand to his face with exasperation.

Thor clapped a hand against Loki's shoulder, then apologised when Loki grunted from pain. "You said that about Sigyn as well, brother. But it was obvious how you felt about her whenever she walked into a room."

Loki sighed with frustration. "Are you truly so dense, brother, that you cannot see the implications of such a discovery? You may put it down to an infatuation that doesn't exist because that is all your tiny warrior brain can comprehend. If I am to be king, if I ever please the All-Father, knowing the Yurians may yet live will provide a boon in knowledge if we can find them and bring them together. Finding out everything about this man will help, but first I must refresh myself on Yurian history and culture."

Thor simply smirked. "Of course, brother. Whatever you say." He put a heavy hand on Loki's shoulder.

"Such a child!" Loki hissed. He pulled away from Thor. "Just get me that book, brother. If nothing else, it will be interesting to see how he handles the information." _If he can read it,_ Loki thought.

* * *

Thor came through fairly quickly, bringing him the book within a day. Loki didn't have a session with Daniel until the following day, but he didn't want to wait to give the doctor the book.

The book was from Claris, and was therefore written in Yurian text. Any Aesir could read and understand any language, but he knew other species couldn't. However, he had a feeling that if Daniel was partially Yurian, he might be able to read the writing, despite what Thor conjectured about knowledge not being inherent.

He strode with purpose down the hall towards the consulting room, book tucked under his arm. When he reached the closed door, he opened it without knocking.

Daniel looked up with surprise. "Loki?"

Loki stopped at the door, realising that he recognised the doctor was in a session with someone else, and even though he knew this doctor had seen Agent Barton before, he still felt a pang of jealousy; that he thought the doctor on this occasion was only here for him. "You…do this for other people?" he asked giving the SHIELD agent who was sitting on the couch a look of disdain. The agent, Loki recognised her from their little dance in the hallway near the beginning of his stay here, had been crying, and was now trying to hide the fact behind several balled up tissues.

Daniel stood up with a frown. "Yes, it is my profession. I work for SHIELD helping the agents with any issues they may have, and you can't be here right now." Daniel tried to turn him so that he walked out the door, but Loki refused to budge. "Loki, please. It's important for you to understand that just like I wouldn't expect anyone to walk in on our sessions, and I don't expect you to do so either. Now leave!"

"I have something for you," Loki said, ignoring him. "I think you'll find it very enlightening."

"Loki…"

"It's a book from the Asgard Royal Library," Loki said with a frown, not letting the doctor just dismiss him. "I asked Thor to take a great risk in bringing it here. The least you could do is take it."

"Not now," Daniel hissed. "Leave it for our next session, which is tomorrow."

"Now, Doctor, I don't think you're being reasonable…"

"No, Loki! _You're_ not being reasonable!" the doctor snapped. Loki was taken aback by the unusual behaviour. "Just because something is important to you, doesn't mean you have the right to interrupt me whilst I am working. I can appreciate that you perhaps didn't understand that I help people other than yourself, but with your progress, I would have thought you would at least have the decency to listen to me, realise that I am not just here for you, and leave when asked!"

"I must confess," Loki started angrily, "I thought you were of a different calibre. That you might value the information I have to give you in the pursuit of knowledge of your heritage."

"My herit…?" Daniel asked, then he realised what Loki was getting at. "Loki, I have told you, I am not going to talk about this. And you of all people should understand that I have no desire to find out about what you think is my heritage, especially when you won't even acknowledge your own!"

Loki was livid. "You speak of understanding, _Doctor_," he spat, "but you appear to understand very little!" He shoved the book against the doctor's chest forcefully, taking a modicum of satisfaction when it moved the doctor back a few steps and he grunted from the impact. He then spun on his heel and stormed off back to his room.

* * *

A/N: Claris and the Yurians are my invention. As far as I am aware, they don't currently exist in fiction (or reality for that matter), so all their attributes, culture and habits are mine. I am, however, aware that in fiction, there ARE other races that have purple eyes, but for the sake of my story, there aren't.

Also, Alexandria Genesis is a real documented condition, although it is disputed to be real, so that part is NOT my invention.

PLEASE REVIEW!


	5. Chapter 5

Short chapter, sorry, but any more would get to into something a bit more interesting and then it would be a looooooooooooong chapter...best to split them. :)

Own nothing but my OC!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

The next session Loki had with the doctor, he could tell immediately that their relationship had changed. The doctor, normally bright and breezy, was sullen and didn't smile as he usually did, dark circles under his eyes normally bright eyes. Loki felt like he could cut the tension with a knife. "Good morning," he ventured, almost hoping that by being civil it would repair the damage he may have done.

"Hi," Daniel said from behind the desk. Loki wondered if that's where he'd conduct the session from since he had continued and finished the last session there too. "Please sit down," he gestured to the couch.

Loki sat down, but didn't make himself comfortable like he usually would. The distance between them felt too cavernous. He leaned his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together, and waited to see if the doctor would sit on his usual chair in the middle of the room.

Daniel shuffled some paperwork and cleared his throat but made no move to get closer. "I have to say that you are making excellent progress, despite what happened yesterday. You have openly discussed your issues and so today I'd like to start talking you through those issues one at a time. By doing this, hopefully we can help you realise that you've been holding onto them for far too long."

When he was sure the doctor wasn't going to move, Loki stood up and walked over to the doctor's chair. He spun it around and sat down indignantly, crossing his legs and folding his arms, daring the doctor to tell him to move.

The doctor looked surprised but didn't object. "Uh, so, I think we should start with the adoption issue because this could potentially lead to a better resolution for the anger at your brother and father." He turned the screen of his computer round for Loki to look at. "Can you tell me what you see?"

Loki leaned forwards slightly to be able to see the screen clearly. "Adoption Agencies," he said simply referring to the list on the screen.

"Yes," Daniel said turning the screen back. "A lot of them. There's more than just the one page for countries all over the world. What do you think that means?"

"I wouldn't have the faintest idea," Loki said with a sigh. The doctor was treating him like a child. Normally, he would have demanded that the doctor show him more respect, but he knew that the doctor was 'punishing' him for their altercation yesterday. He would get to that in a bit.

"It means that all over the world, there are babies, toddlers and young children who need a loving home, and couples who can't have babies for whatever reason, be it lifestyle or medical, will sign up to these agencies to start the adoption process. Here, this is a very common occurrence."

"You mean to say that I should not feel badly about my family situation because here it is commonplace?"

"Much like you didn't feel that my lifestyle choice was an issue because on Asgard it is commonplace."

Loki leaned forwards. "Your point?"

"I am trying to point out that it was a good thing that Odin adopted you," Daniel said. "You had been abandoned to die by your real father, for whatever reason. He raised you like his own son. So did your mother and from what I understand, your brother only teased you as sibling would do normally because he knew no different. Yes they didn't tell you that you were adopted, but what difference do you think that would have made?"

"You don't understand," Loki said suddenly. "I am a Frost Giant. The stuff of nightmares. '_If you do not eat your meat or go to bed and sleep, the Frost Giants will come to get you'_ parents tell their children. The monster under the bed. And all my life, I heard these stories and they frightened _me_ into obedience. How would you feel if all your life you were told about monsters only to find out you are one?" Loki's eyes stung with unshed tears, which he quickly brushed away before they fell. He looked at Daniel. "Well?"

Daniel opened his mouth to say something, and then thought better about it. He let out small laugh. "I suppose I would find it disconcerting."

Loki realised why the good doctor found it wryly amusing. Loki had made a sweeping declaration that the doctor was not of human origins and presumably, he had read the book that Loki had all but thrown in his face. _Had_ he read it? If he could read the text, it was undisputable proof he was at least part Yurian.

The two looked at each other, the tension lifting. They both laughed from the relief. Loki then realised something. "The Yurian's were anything but monsters, doctor. You have nothing to fear."

Daniel looked like he was about to say something, then he looked at Loki and smiled. "You know, you're very good at changing the subject."

Loki leaned back in the chair with a smirk. "God of Deception." But he knew he wouldn't get anything more on the subject out of the doctor at that point.

The rest of the session, the doctor explained that Loki had a right to feel angry at the secret being kept from him, but reiterated what his mother had already told him many times since he found out; that they were trying to ensure he never felt different. And as for Loki's obvious fear that he was a monster, Daniel showed him several books about Norse Mythology which showed the Frost Giants were not always painted as a savage race. They were highly misunderstood.

"Much like I think you are sometimes," Daniel said almost absent-mindedly as he and Loki sat side by side looking at the books on the desk.

"But we have already decided that your scribes have gotten things wrong in the past," Loki said playfully.

"Mmm." The doctor's response was non-committal.

Loki turned his head to look at the doctor. He was suddenly very aware of how close they were standing to each other, and he realised that Thor may be right; that he might feel something more than professional feelings for the young man, that his interest went deeper than wanting to find out more about his link to the long-dead race.

He internally shook his head. "Why will you not even partially acknowledge that you could be descended from an ancient race of aliens?" he asked, trying to take his mind off his revelation.

The doctor sighed. "Loki, come on. I've told you I don't want to talk about this. Not just because of the ridiculousness of it all, but because these sessions are for you, not for me."

"You told me one of your secrets already; why not discuss other aspects of your life?"

"Look," the doctor said turning to face him, "maybe when this is all over and you're no longer my patient, we can get together and go through the book, but I read it last night after you gave it to me. Nothing really jumped out at me as familiar or makes sense to my life at the moment. So, please, can we just drop it now?"

So he admitted he'd read the book. This _was_ interesting. Loki supressed a smirk, and pretended to consider the request, a nagging suspicion that the doctor was lying. _Loki_ lied; so he knew a lie when he heard it. The book from Asgard had hit him harder than he let on. But, Loki decided, if he didn't get anything out of the doctor before he was invited back to Asgard to rule, he supposed he could still come back to Midgard to discuss the subject as necessary. "Alright, doctor," he said. "I won't ask you about this anymore, until such time as we are no longer in our current relationship."

The doctor looked relieved…perhaps too relieved. "Thank you. Now, let's get back to the subject of you."

* * *

They had a further 2 sessions before Loki was taken into Director Fury's office. Loki sat apprehensively opposite the eye-patched man, Agent Barton flanking him, Thor off to the other side. He had a bad feeling about this.

The Director looked at him pensively. "This is your debriefing," Fury said. "That means that once this conversation is over, you're free to go."

Loki sat up straight and he saw Thor uncross his arms with surprise. "What?"

"The doctor gave you a glowing report saying that, in his professional opinion, you are no longer a threat to the Earth or its inhabitants and that you should be returned to the custody of your brother. After that, no doubt you'll go back to Asgard."

Loki was confused. The doctor had given him no indication in the last session that it was their final one. He felt slightly put out because it didn't seem like the end had come to a natural conclusion; the rug had been pulled out from under him. He said as much to Fury.

"The doctor had to be called away for personal reasons," Fury said.

"Personal reasons?" Loki asked.

"If you must know, there was a death in his family. He's been given grieving time. When he was asked if another psychologist should take over, he said it wasn't necessary, that you are fine to go."

"Oh." He couldn't help the disappointment from filtering through. He then remembered that the doctor still had his book. "Did he leave anything for me?" Fury pulled out a brown paper wrapped package and eyed it sceptically. "It's just a book I lent him," Loki explained softly, feeling slightly detached from himself, but relieved to get it back. With a curt look at Thor, who nodded his head, Fury handed it to him. Loki took the package and tucked it under his armpit, sensing the brief conversation was coming to an end. "Thank you."

Fury looked at Barton and Thor. "His security clearance has already been revoked, so he needs to be escorted out of the building after getting his stuff." He turned to Loki. "Trust me when I say that I hope I _never_ have to see you again."

Loki sobered quickly and stood up. "Thank you Director, but please be assured that if we ever do meet again, it will be to strengthen relations between Asgard and Midgard." He held a hand out for the man to shake. The Director took his hand and shook it briefly. If he was surprised by what Loki had said, he didn't make a show of it, but when Loki turned around, Thor was grinning like a madman. Barton also had an impressed look on his face. "Not a word," he hissed to both of them, well aware of how diplomatic he had sounded. He amazed himself.

"I am proud of you, Loki," Thor said, a hand draped across his shoulder as they led him back to his room to gather his things. "Even I can see the change in your demeanour. It has not gone unnoticed by both Jane and Darcy either."

"It's astonishingly unbelievable," Barton mused. "A month ago if you'd done that, I would have sworn that you were up to something."

"Both of your opinions matter greatly to me," Loki said sarcastically, but with a joking tone. "But the All-Father doesn't appear to think so." He waved a hand in a simple gesture and nothing happened.

Thor cleared his throat. "Fear not, brother. I am going to see Father and tell him the news of what has transpired. I'm sure your power will be returned to you soon." He pulled Loki into a loose hug and ruffled his hair.

Loki pushed him off with a smile, but inside, he knew it didn't matter what the doctor or Fury thought, least of all his brother. Odin could see all through Heimdall and knew his power would have already been returned if he felt Loki was worthy. He wasn't sure what was absent, but perhaps Odin _could _shed some light on the subject if Thor asked.

* * *

It had been a couple of days since he'd been brought back. Thor had been to see Odin, who had expressed joy that Loki had repaired the damage between him and the protectors of the Earth, but that he could not grant Loki's powers back yet or bring him back to Asgard as something was missing, something important. He would not elaborate. Thor could say no more than that as he had no idea what Odin could have meant.

But instead of becoming angry at Odin, resentful even, Loki fell into a depression. He had no idea what more he would have to do in order to show his father he was worthy of his power and to rule Asgard. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he sank into an emotional abyss. It caused him to want to just be alone and not do anything. So he locked himself in his room. A few times, Thor had knocked on the door, to which he had snarled for him to go away. Jane had tried too, and he'd snapped at her as well, although he'd apologised immediately. He only left the room to eat and use the bathroom.

So now, Loki lay on the small single bed that Jane had provided for him in the tiny spare bedroom, arms behind his head. He glared at the ceiling, willing it to collapse on him. He sighed for what must have been the millionth time since he had been brought back to the small apartment.

"Loki, this is madness!" he heard Thor bellow through the door. "You cannot sulk like a petulant child in your room all day! You will learn nothing else that Father intends for you to learn in there!"

"Go away!" Loki growled. "If I am to be condemned to spend the rest of my mortal days here then it is _my _life to choose what I do with them!"

"Brother, please!" Thor implored.

Loki got off the bed and walked over to the door. "Go away, brother, and respect my wishes," he hissed. He could hear Thor breathing deeply on the other side, perhaps thinking about something else to say. After a few tense filled moments in which Loki thought for sure Thor might just not respect his privacy and just break the door down, he heard footsteps away from the door. It was only when he heard the front door open and close, knowing that Thor had left, that he stepped back, sighing with relief.

Later that day, he was absently looking through the Yurian book, a slight headache tugging at him, when he heard the apartment door open, signalling Thor's return. The heavy footsteps headed straight away to Loki's door. The knock was light and apologetic. He ignored it, hoping his brother would think he was asleep.

He heard another, slightly more insistent knock on the door. "No one's here!" he shouted, still wanting to be left alone. The knocking didn't continue, and after a few moments he was satisfied Thor got the message. That is, until he heard a whirring noise, several clinks on the floor, and the handle of the door falling to the ground. He raised an eyebrow as the door swung open and Agent Barton entered the room brandishing an electric screw driver, Thor standing in the doorway behind him. "Sulking time is over, Sunshine," Barton announced.

Loki sighed and sat up. "What are _you_ doing here?" he asked the Hawk, throwing a glare Thor's way. His brother retreated out of earshot.

Barton put the screwdriver on Loki's desk and sat next to him on the bed. "Heard you were depressed, and thought you might want to talk to someone."

"And you thought that person to be you?" Loki asked sourly.

"Hell no," Barton countered. "But I guess I can sympathise a bit, you not getting to finalise with the Doc. It must be difficult. So, I did some digging and I found the Doc's card that he gave me when I started seeing him." Barton reached into a pocket and pulled out a card with the doctor's number on it. "I'm sure he must be busy at the moment, so maybe give it a few more days, and then call him. If anything, you can thank him for helping you."

"It didn't really help, though. I am still cast out with no power," Loki said matter-of-factly taking the card. He tapped it against the tips of his fingers. "But thank you." He bit his bottom lip contemplating something. Barton noticed and threw a questioning glance at him. "I really don't know what it is I'm supposed to do now."

Barton shrugged sympathetically. "Well, you're not going to get anywhere by sitting in this room all day." He stood up, picked up the screwdriver and whirred it a couple of times. "I'll fix your door, but only if you promise to stop acting like a pissy emo teenager."

Loki laughed at the term Barton seemed to favour, flipping the card over and over in his hands, knowing that Barton was not one to mince his words. "Alright, I promise."

* * *

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW! I promise things get a little bit more interesting!


	6. Chapter 6

Next update. Thank you to everyone who has followed the story so far. :) I'd love it if you would all review this chapter to tell me what you think. I had fun writing this one. You get to know a bit more about Daniel and Loki is quite...human in this. So I will say one thing:

Awkward Loki is awkward. :D Lol.

Own nothing but my OC!

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Loki looked at the phone Jane gave to him. He flipped it open and dialled the number. It rang, but then went through to what Jane had called 'voicemail'. He waited for the beep, and then began to leave a well practised message.

"Doctor Atwell, this is Loki…of Asgard. Well, currently Midgard…although you probably realise that. Uh, anyway, I understand that this is a trying time for you and your family…my condolences, and I hope that you will call me back. I was given your number because I have need of your counsel. I hope that it isn't too much of an imposition."

He hung up after leaving the number and handed the phone back to Jane. She refused it. "You can keep it for now. I have a spare one."

Loki nodded with thanks and placed it in on the coffee table in front of them. They sat in comfortable silence, Jane reading through her paperwork, Loki watching the images on the television screen, although it was still muted. Loki didn't bother turning the sound back on. The programme was boring him anyway.

About 10 minutes later, the phone beeped. He and Jane both looked at the phone. Loki glanced at Jane, an eyebrow raised, unsure what was happening. "It's a text message," Jane explained. She took the phone from the table. "It's Doctor Atwell. It says he's sorry he didn't answer the phone, but it wasn't a number he recognised but he's added it now. He also…huh…that's weird."

"What?" Loki asked leaning to look over her shoulder.

"He says that if you want to talk, he's got some time tomorrow after his mother's funeral. He's given a time and will send the address."

Loki blinked. "He's…inviting me to his mother's funeral?"

"It would appear so, well _after_ the actual burial." Jane smiled softly at him. "Do you want me to reply?" Loki nodded. "Okay. I'm going to say thank…you…I will…see…you…there." She said each word as she typed. She showed it to him before hitting send.

"Thank you," Loki said taking the phone from her. He read the doctor's message himself. "_Hi Loki. Sorry I didn't answer the phone but I never answer a call when I don't know the number. Added you to my contacts now. If you want to talk, I'm available tomorrow at 3pm at Kensal Green Cemetery after my mother's burial. You're welcome to come along and wait for it to finish. I'll send you the address._"

Another message came through while he was reading; the address. "Well, I had better make sure I have suitable attire," Loki said getting up off the couch. He looked at the brown-haired girl on the couch. "Thank you, Jane, for helping me to leave an appropriate message."

"Hey, I know how hard it is to speak to someone when you have a crush on them." She smiled broadly, knowing she was teasing him as Thor had. Loki picked up one of the throw pillows from the couch and chucked it at her head with a smirk on his face. She laughed, and he ran into his room to dodge the retaliation.

* * *

Loki stood a fair distance away from the small crowd surrounding the burial site, hands in the pockets of his coat, collar turned up against the blustery cold of the London autumn weather. It was grey, rain hanging in the air without actually falling, a chill wind blowing. His coat flapped about his legs while the droning voice of the priest laid the mortal body to rest.

Loki briefly felt saddened that he hadn't been able to attend his own mother's funeral rites but he put the feeling aside when he noticed that the crowd was beginning to disperse. He saw Daniel Atwell hugging a small older woman, who patted his arm affectionately, no doubt saying assuring words to him. After a few more people did the same, he saw Daniel look over towards him and give a small wave. He spoke briefly to the priest and then made his way over to where Loki was standing.

"Hello, Doctor," Loki said. "Again, I offer my condolences to you. It's never easy to lose a family member, let alone your mother."

Daniel smiled. "Please, call me Daniel now, Loki. Or Dan. I'd prefer that. It's less formal now that we're not patient and doctor."

"Daniel," Loki repeated. "Look, if now is not a good time, we can meet another time."

"No, no, it's fine," Daniel said. "We're having the wake a little way down the road from here." Loki assumed a 'wake' was something similar to the great feast after a death in Asgard from the context of the conversation. "Most of the older guests are going to drive there, but I'd prefer to walk. So, if you walk with me, we can talk." Loki nodded. Daniel began to walk off, and Loki walked by his side. "So, I'm really sorry I cut our sessions off, but I was only going to tell you in the next one that it would be our last. Unfortunately, my mother died suddenly, and I had to take some time off to take care of a few things." He paused, hesitant, as if he wanted to say something, then thought better of it. "You said you had something you needed to talk about?"

Loki nodded, tucking the hesitance in the doctor…Daniel…away for later. "Well, it was just to thank you for your assistance. You certainly helped me to realise where I was going wrong, what I _did_ wrong. But…" He stopped, unsure how to put his feelings into words that wouldn't sound selfish or ungrateful. "…forgive me if this comes out wrong, but, it just seemed to have been futile. As I'm sure you can tell, I am still without my powers and stuck on Midgard. My father says there is still something I need to do, but I have no idea what it is. He wouldn't tell Thor."

"Oh," Daniel said. "Um…I'm not sure. We explored so much of your life over the time we had, your actions are fragmented." Daniel stuck an arm out at a crossing stopping Loki from stepping into the road as a cyclist zoomed by. "We would have to analyse each thing individually and work out if you have put it right. I mean, I'm guessing you got the impression from your father that if you got help, everything would sort itself out?"

Loki was taken aback. "Well, no. It was SHIELD's idea to bring you in." He followed the doctor across the road.

"So," Daniel ventured, "perhaps merely seeking help and gaining the understanding you've now got wasn't enough. Maybe your actions will determine the outcome of the lesson."

Loki was struck by the memory of when he died. His mother said something to him. What was it?

_The road ahead will be long and hard for you, but you have to travel it. You have a very important purpose, and you are the only one who can do it._

Loki pursed his lips in frustration. Even his mother had been cryptic. "There are a great many actions I could do, and none of them might make any difference to the All-Father. How am I supposed to know his purpose for me?"

"Have you asked him?"

"Of course not," Loki growled. "I am banished from Asgard and as I said before, he spoke nothing to Thor about this that made any sense!"

Daniel stopped at another crossing, pressing the button for the pedestrian lights. "Well, no one said learning a lesson would be very easy. If it were easy, everyone would do it. There would be no wars, no famine, no anger."

Loki laughed at Daniel's choice of words. He'd said as much to Thor before they squeezed their way through the secret pathway into Svartalfheim. But his mood turned sour again. "So, without knowing my purpose, what do you propose that I do?"

They crossed another road in silence, Loki giving Daniel a few moments to think about his question. He was hopeful that the doctor may yet still have something useful to tell him. Eventually, after a few more moments of silence that Loki could bear, he put a hand on the doctor's shoulder, stopping him and turning him around. "Well?"

Daniel looked at him, his eyes bright blue behind his fake glasses, even in the grey of the English afternoon thanks to the contacts, absently worrying his bottom lip. He had something! "Do you believe in fate?" Daniel asked softly.

Loki dropped his hand away. "Fate is defined events as ordered or inevitable and unavoidable. I prefer not to be bound by that particular idiocy."

"Well, I do believe in fate, or destiny, or that everything happens for a reason. But I didn't know I believed it until I met you." Daniel's voice was strained. "All my life, I have followed a path laid out before me, taking the fairly straight road, never deviating. I had a purpose, to follow in my father's footsteps and become a doctor, a healer, and I did that. I became a medical healer. I worked at a hospital for years watching as the sick and dying were brought to me.

"One day, I helped a man whose leg had to be amputated, and although I did my job, the man could not accept that his leg had to go. His mind wasn't strong enough to handle the reality, and I saw it! I suggested that he needed more than just medicine, that his head and heart needed to heal too, but my superiors told me he would be fine.

"That man killed himself shortly after he was released from the hospital, and I vowed that I would no longer help to merely heal physical wounds. So I studied to become a psychologist, much to the consternation of my father who thought psychology is not a real profession. I battled him every step of the way and eventually found myself losing his respect. When I earned my right to work in my chosen vocation, he never spoke to me again, all because I deviated from my path that he had envisioned for me.

"Why did I deviate? I didn't know at the time. It just felt right, and I have never regretted doing that." Daniel laughed. "You know, it had never occurred to me that I had never become ill until you pointed it out. And until you suggested that I was not from this world, a lot of other things that happened in my life didn't make sense, but I chose not to care. And until I read that _stupid_ book of yours…" He chuckled lamentably. "That damn book of yours has filled my head with information that kind of _does_ make sense to me."

"Daniel," Loki started, but the doctor stopped him with a raised hand.

"I feel like, since meeting you and you seeing through my disguise that we were meant to cross paths. So, yes, _I_ believe in fate. Perhaps you should too. Perhaps you should just wait and see where the path leads you. Your purpose will become clear."

Loki didn't know what to say. He looked up at the darkening sky, a raindrop falling onto his face. He would prefer not to think his life were set in stone, that his fate was predetermined, but he couldn't deny that he had thought it was odd that he'd been thrust into the path of this doctor, a man who not only could help him to air out his feelings and make sense of his life, but also a man who could potentially be from another world, a world of great importance to Asgard. The coincidence _was_ astounding.

_...__and you are the only one who can do it._

The rain began to fall properly now and he looked at Daniel, who had taken an umbrella out from inside his coat and was putting it up. He still had no words, so instead, he smiled wryly and ducked under the umbrella. Daniel was surprised but then grinned at him.

They didn't speak much more about fate or destiny. Loki was invited into a hall lined with a buffet and bar. He had initially declined, but Daniel had simply smiled at him and for some reason, Loki thought perhaps this would be a good opportunity to learn more about his family, possibly get some clues as to Daniel's origins.

Despite the terrible loss of a mother, sister, aunt, the room was in high spirits. Loki learned that although a sad occasion, it was preferable to remember the good times people had with the deceased rather than sit and be upset the whole time. Daniel laughed at memories and Loki stood aside watching intently.

At one point, an older lady, the one who had hugged Daniel first after the burial, sidled up to him and began chatting to him. "It's so nice to see Daniel bring someone," she said and offered him a piece of cake. He took it gratefully with polite thanks. "You know, he hasn't been happy since that Ben character. He really broke his heart. But I'm sure you're nothing like Ben."

Loki had a mouthful of cake, so couldn't respond, not knowing who Ben was, so assumed he had been a partner or boyfriend, but her next question nearly caused him to choke. "Are you two having much sex?"

"Aunt Meredith!" a younger woman came over and pushed in between them, patting Loki on the back, handing him her glass. He took a gulp of whatever she had been drinking, gin and tonic he thought, trying to clear the cake lodged in his windpipe. "Dan didn't even introduce him as his boyfriend and you go and ask him a question like that! I am _so_ sorry," she said turning to him. "I'm Daisy, Dan's sister, and this is Meredith, senile old woman, gossip and general nuisance." She said it with a smile though.

"What's wrong with asking that question?" the old woman asked. "People like sex." Loki smiled at the woman's brevity.

"Yes, they do," Daisy said. "Why don't you go make the Priest over there uncomfortable with your little questions?" She pushed the older woman in that direction, who tutted, but toddled off nonetheless.

Loki studied the woman who had introduced herself as Daniel's sister. She struck him as an older sister, her hair greying, but the golden brown still in fullness. Her eyes, he noted, held neither contact lenses nor glasses, and were hazel brown, nothing like her brother's. She didn't carry the alien DNA, which caused Loki to think more carefully about what he'd read in the book, trying to discern a clue from it, but was interrupted by a question Daisy asked. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"I asked how you know Dan?" the woman asked again taking her glass back from him.

"Oh, I…work with him."

"Oh, are you a psychologist too?"

Loki had to think quickly on his feet. He was sure Daniel's family would not approve of bringing an Asgardian Prince, who tried to take over the world, turned mental patient to his mother's funeral. "Yes," he replied with a disarming smile. He then changed the subject quickly. "I am so sorry for your loss."

Daisy made a gesture with her hand, waving his condolences away. "It's okay," she said. "She's not…wasn't…my mother. Dan is my half brother, on our father's side, although it is a great loss for him. I'm just here for him since our father wouldn't come. And, of course, because I care deeply for him."

Loki nodded, a slightly better understanding coming to him. It appeared that it was Daniel's mother that had carried the genes, not his father.

"In fact, Martha was the last of her side of the family, apart from Dan. It's been so tragic. Dan has no one now. Well, he has us, but since his father wants nothing to do with him, the rest of us have to stick together to be strong for him." She scrunched her nose disapprovingly. "Our father is an idiot."

Loki raised an eyebrow, ignoring her last comment. "Daniel is the last of his family?" he asked.

Daisy nodded taking a drink. "Mmm, yes. It's quite a story really, reaching far back into his history. An interesting fact about Daniel is he's been the only boy to be born in his line for generations. The first male Atwell since…well…a very, very long time. The Atwell name is old, but was always carried by the mother in Dan's family's case. The mothers would refuse to take the fathers' last names in order to preserve the history. Each daughter was born and the same thing would happen, over and over again. When Daniel was born, I have never seen a woman as proud as Martha was. She always called him her special boy."

"Are you boring Loki with that old story, Daisy?" Daniel came over asking. He snatched her glass away, giving it a sniff. "Ah, G&T always loosens your tongue."

Daisy rolled her eyes with a smile and grabbed her glass again. "Dan, it's a great story, and one day there will be some sort of significance to it! There has to be a reason why all of a sudden a boy was born when the rest of your family were all women."

"Yes," Loki ventured. "Everything happens for a reason." He smirked at Daniel, who glared at him.

Daisy heard someone call her name. "Oh, I've got to go speak to Trisha," she said leaning over to give Daniel a peck on the cheek. "I'll speak to you later? Nice to meet you, Loki!"

Daniel nodded and waved her off. "She's nice," Loki mentioned putting another piece of cake in his mouth.

"Yes, she's been a rock for me this past week," Daniel said sadly. "Dad didn't even want to speak to me about funeral arrangements. I thought maybe, just maybe, he would come out of the woodwork. He says he loved my mother, even after the divorce, but maybe he didn't really." Daniel shook his head, pushing his ineffective glasses up his nose. "Look, that stuff that Daisy was telling you about my family…"

"It's alright," Loki said. "We don't have to talk about it in detail now. But she was right; it is significant. And I really think we should explore this, perhaps over a cup of tea at a less morbid time of your life?"

Daniel looked grateful. "Okay," he said. "We'll make a date…uh, I mean…not a date like that…"

Loki chuckled. "Why, Doctor, I believe you are blushing."

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A/N: Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

I apologise if this chapter is a little heavy on facts or things that might seem complicated...please remember that Claris and the Yurians are completely made up from my mind. If you don't understand something, feel free to leave a review or even PM me, but I do promise things will be explained in due course.

Own nothing but my OC!

* * *

**Chapter 7**

It was a few days later when Loki entered the coffee shop near Jane's apartment brandishing the book. He'd now read it at least a hundred times, absorbing every last bit of information from it, feeling confident he had a better understanding of it and Daniel's heritage. He felt, though, that he should know a lot more than the book was letting on. He had wracked his brains for the information, but it had eluded him. His mortal body was obviously affecting his memory of his ages. It infuriated him to no end.

He noticed Daniel in a corner. The doctor spotted him and waved him over. "Hope you don't mind I just ordered a pot of tea for the both of us," Daniel said.

Loki sat down opposite the man. "Its fine," He dumped the book in front of him. "I have pretty much committed the entire book to my memory and there are some noteworthy points." He watched Daniel absently flipping through the book, supressing a smile. He was going to have to bring up the fact that Daniel could read the book with him now. "Do you not think it strange that you can read the text?" he asked.

He saw Daniel flinch slightly. "It had crossed my mind the minute I opened it and the words leapt into my head like they'd always been there. I wasn't going to say anything. It shocked me. That's why I was so tired the next day. I couldn't stop reading, and then wondered how I understood anything. I also thought that it somehow had the ability to read me instead, but _that_ just made things worse. A sentient book! So, I put that all to the back of my mind and just read it from cover to cover." He sighed. "There are so many things in here that don't make sense, but others that do."

Loki hadn't realised it had affected the doctor the way it had. He was almost sorry he'd pushed the issue. "Why don't you tell me what _you_ think is significant?"

Daniel sighed again. He took up the tea pot and poured the golden liquid into each cup. "Well, it intrigued me that the Yurians were never really ill. From a genetic standpoint, you would imagine that in the evolution of a species there would be viruses or bacteria that would affect them. But there's no mention of anything like that in the book." He dropped two lumps of sugar in his and offered them to Loki. "And even if there were no viruses or the like on Claris, surely if Alexandria was a Yurian, her immune system should have reacted badly to Earth diseases."

Loki took his cup and dropped some milk in the brew along with one lump of sugar. "The Yurians were highly evolved and incredibly smart. It is possible they had developed the necessary science or medicines to prevent all diseases from affecting them or perhaps even wiped out the viruses that caused them."

"That would be an amazing achievement. But I still don't believe that would have saved them from alien plagues or ailments." Daniel appeared to dismiss that line of thought. "Something I don't understand though; if all Yurians had purple eyes, and Alexandria was a Yurian as you think, why aren't there more people on Earth with purple eyes? _And_ I wasn't born with purple eyes. They developed when I was 17…overnight in fact. The book says that Yurians are born with purple eyes."

There was that tugging again, like Loki should be remembering something, but couldn't…quite…ah hah! He managed to catch it before it fled. "Something the book doesn't mention that I was told about many years ago was that the Yurians throughout their lives would absorb the atmosphere of their world. Claris was very purple. The soil was purple from a mineral they called Claris Amethyst. It would seep into the water, it would float in the air. I would imagine something like that would have an effect on the inhabitants. Their skin pigment was even slightly purple, although this was a rare occurrence."

"So the purple eyes were not genetic?" Daniel contemplated this lifting his tea to his lips, taking a sip. "Could Alexandria's eyes have been a one off, not passing to her children and their children because they didn't absorb the mineral? But then, why would I…?" He paused, taking a sip of his tea, deep in thought. His face contorted into one of disbelief. "No," he mumbled. "It…can't be…could it?"

Loki raised a brow, realising that Daniel was on to something. "Daniel, tell me."

"I…it was my 17th birthday. My mother was so excited. She gave me my present early. It was a box and inside was this ring." He held up his right hand and looked at the golden band. "She told me it was a special ring; her family carried it for generations, only to be presented to a son born into the family." He smiled at the memory. "She had been so happy that day, more so than usual. I wore the ring so proudly. She told me I was never to take it off, not that I ever wanted to.

"It was a few months later. I had a dream, about a purple wasteland. It was weird, almost like I was really there. The sky above shimmered with stars so bright the whole place was lit up, but there was no sun. I was walking around, but there was no one about. It was desolate. A wind picked up and I couldn't breathe properly, the air too thick with dust, and it stung my eyes. When I woke up from that dream, my eyes had changed colour." Daniel looked at Loki. He then looked at his ring. "Claris Amethyst?" he whispered.

Loki took the doctor's hand and inspected the ring closer. One thing he knew he would be capable if his power was restored was that he would be able to tell instantly if the stone was from Claris. For centuries, he'd been sensitive to the mineral. He wasn't sure how, but he was. He'd asked his mother about it once, and she had shrugged simply stating that his abilities were far beyond anything she had experienced before and she wasn't surprised that he might be able to somehow connect to things others were not. So he'd simply accepted it.

He had known the instant Claris had been desolated. He had felt it across dimensions and realms. And he'd been the one to tell his father the news. When questioned how he knew this, Frigga had simply put a hand on Odin's arm and it was as if he instantly understood that she believed him without question. Thor and the others confirmed it upon visiting and returning from the now barren land.

"It could be," he agreed, not getting the familiar buzz he'd usually had when he came into contact with Claris Amethyst. "Shall we simply assume that it is and that the mineral properties of this small stone embedded in Midgardian gold is so strong that it seeped into your blood and turned your eyes purple after a few short months?"

Daniel snorted. "I know, it sounds implausible…"

"No," Loki interrupted looking up from Daniel's hand. "I'm saying _let's_ assume!"

Daniel's own eyes were wide. He then pulled his hand away and made an indignant noise. "What it the point of all this anyway?" he asked. "So what if I am a Yurian? If I am, what does knowing this mean for me now? I had no idea about any of this. When I went to see my mother in a panic about the colour change, she told me not to worry. She almost immediately presented me with my contact lenses and told me to never taken them out unless I was at home and to never tell anyone about my condition. It was like she'd known this was going to happen. She didn't even explain what was wrong, but I loved and respected her so much that I never questioned it. She just kept telling me I was her special boy and that one day she would explain.

"After you made your assumptions, I asked her about it. I demanded that she tell me what I was, what the eyes meant, where I was from, why I was so important and special. She calmed me down like only she could, and promised to tell me everything, but in due course. Then she died. I didn't even know she was sick. In fact, I'd never known her to be sick, and the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with her. There was no rhyme or reason for her death. She just…expired." He laughed. "Cop out," he mumbled and shook his head lamentably.

Loki grimaced. It seemed like families had habits of keeping things from their sons throughout the realms. "I don't know why she would keep the secret from you. But if you have shown me anything during our time together, it's that it is probably for your own good." He leaned forwards, grabbing the book and flipping it to a particular page. It was about the technology on the planet. "Does this part mean anything to you?" he asked with hope.

Daniel re-read the section while Loki sipped his tea. "I think…" Daniel started, "…is it talking about some sort of cloaking technology? I'm not really a technician or biologist, but from what I'm reading, it seems that the Yurians developed a way to become invisible or hidden, but it's vague as to how or I just don't understand it."

"Biology, you mentioned," Loki said with interest. "What does that have to do with technology?"

Daniel looked closer at the technical images. "It looks like the science was integrated into the biology of the race. The Yurians were playing with the idea of integrating it into their physiology that it would become a…a genetic trait?" Daniel shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense."

Loki thought long and hard about what the doctor had just said. He'd read it, but hadn't quite understood what he was reading. The doctor was right…none of it made sense, unless…it was new and relatively untested. Again, he felt like he was missing a part of his memory, like he should know more about the subject, but his mind was drawing a blank. "When did this technology come into being?" he asked the doctor.

Daniel flipped a few pages, scanning the information. "The dates don't mean anything to me, but this is where it's first documented." He turned the book towards Loki.

Loki glanced at the date. "Hmm, this looks to be about 700 years ago, just before they were exterminated by the Chitauri." He raised an eyebrow, something else catching his eye. "What does _this_ mean?" he asked handing the book back to the doctor.

"Uhh…" Daniel looked where Loki was pointing. "…it looks like they were going to test it over generations, and a select few were bred for the sole purpose of seeing if the technology and biology would meld. They obviously didn't get a chance before they were wiped out."

Loki rubbed his face with a hand and placed his chin in his palm. It was a lot to take in. It would have been an amazing feat had they been given the chance to see if it worked.

The block in his memory annoyed him. It seemed very significant that he was unable to remember some things. He hadn't really noticed it before, but he now realised that it tugged on his mind every time he'd read the book since Thor obtained it for him. If he read something that would perhaps have triggered a memory or knowledge, it disappeared almost straight away, leaving him with a slight headache. He wondered if maybe something was deliberately keeping those memories from him.

Daniel shut the book snapping Loki out of his reverie. "Look, can we stop talking about this for now? It's too much to handle, and I'm not sure what to do with the information." He sighed holding the book out for Loki to take.

Loki took the book back but placed it back down on the table with no intentions of taking it back with him at this point. "You know where you've come from, that's what you can do with the information. You know the amazing things your race could have achieved with more time. You can be proud of it all. You also might not be the last. If one lone Yurian woman found her way to Midgard, there are other places others could have fled to if they were like her." He took the doctor's hands and gripped them tightly. "And I will make it my personal mission to help you find them so you can feel like you have a place in the universe, just like you helped me to find mine." Loki smiled. "And even if I never discover the lesson my father thinks I still have to learn, at least I have a purpose here."

Daniel smiled at him. "Thank you, Loki. I had no idea how important this was to me until I met you, especially now that my mother isn't with me anymore."

_...__and you are the only one who can do it._

Daniel took his hands back and rubbed his face, with a tired sigh. "I really need a drink," Daniel mumbled. "Hey, do you fancy going out with me tonight? Not…I mean…not like _that_ sort of go out, but…well…uh…"

Loki prickled with amusement. "Spit it out, doctor."

Daniel steadied himself. "My friend, Jason, has a band and they're playing at a club tonight. He invited me and I wasn't really going to go after…well…so close to the funeral, but he made me an offer I can't refuse, and I guess it could be good for you, maybe. Get out and about?"

Loki thought about it for about two seconds. He had nothing better to do and the idea of going out with Daniel was a very pleasing idea. "I would love to go out with you," he said with a mischievous smirk. He saw Daniel blush and suddenly understood why Thor and Jane had teased him. If he had been as obvious as the sandy-haired man was being now, no amount of denial would have convinced them otherwise.

* * *

They left the coffee shop and parted ways. Loki felt he had a new sense of purpose and being. He'd left the book with the doctor so he could read through it some more, and promised that if he had any further questions, he would do his best to try and answer them.

Loki found himself to be happy. He couldn't remember being happy for a long time. Not genuinely at least. So much had happened in such a short period of time since his brother's failed coronation, and even that wasn't true happiness. That was only joy that he'd managed to cause a little more chaos in Thor's life, but he realised now that he regretted those actions, and it hadn't been true joy or happiness, borne out of bitterness. The happiness he was feeling now was almost childlike and innocent. It made him feel…strong.

Loki went to cross a road when he heard a woman scream. Turning around he saw a little girl run into the road chasing her ball, and a car bearing down on her, his brakes squealing as the man behind the wheel realised what was happening. Without thinking, Loki ran into the road and scooped up the child, but the car was much closer than he anticipated. It struck him and he was sent flying, the girl still in his arms.

Hitting the ground, he instinctively shielded the child from hitting the road with each roll of their bodies, and when they came to a stop, screams and shouts filled the air. Loki uncurled and stood up holding the girl away from his body, checking her from any injuries. "Are you alright?" he asked her.

The girl was shaken, and she started crying. The child's mother ran over to them and grabbed the girl. "Oh my god, Lucy! Are you okay?" The girl nodded but was still bawling. The mother looked at Loki. "You…you saved her! Thank you! Thank you so…much…" The mother trailed off. "You…" She was looking beyond him.

A few people had gathered around them and were all gibbering incoherently. Loki couldn't grasp what they were all so amazed about until he turned to look at the car that had hit him. The car's bonnet was crushed. The airbag had deployed and the driver was stumbling out of the car, surveying the damage in a daze. The significance on the scene didn't fully register with Loki until he felt a hand on him.

"Are you okay?" the mother was asking him. She was looking him over.

"I'm fine," he said, his voice low. He realised that his coat was damaged from the impact and he silently cursed. He could feel the rush of wind through the torn fabric hitting his skin and he realised his shirt was torn too.

"Fine?" another man asked. "That car hit you almost full force and there isn't a scratch on you!"

"I…" Loki began, when he felt a familiar tingle running through him. It was then he realised what had happened. He turned to the little girl, who was sniffling, but had stopped crying. He knelt down to be more level with her. "Does it hurt anywhere?" he asked her gently. The girl showed him her elbow, where there was a scratch. He smiled kindly.

"Do you want to see a magic trick?"

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A/N: Aha! So...Loki has his powers back, but will he go straight back to Asgard? Find out in the next chapter, which will be posted soon. I'd love to hear from you, so please leave a review, let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

Hi all, I must say the support I've been getting for this fic is amazing. I wish more of you would review, but since you are all still reading, that's good enough for me. :)

This is a long one, because there was no good place to leave it without there being a silly break of a ridiculous cliff hanger.

A note about this chapter: there are several songs that inspired me to write the WHOLE fic and I've listed them here. I recommend that when you get to the corresponding part in the story that you listen to the music. You don't have to, but when I heard these songs, this part of the story basically spawned the rest of the fic:

**(1).** watch?v=FP1Yb28HsLg (Dogzilla - Without You)

**(2). ** watch?v=76gwXVOVsAM (Deepest Blue - Give It Away)

**(3).** watch?v=3QAmyZQYvYU (Ayla - Liebe)

Oh, and if you squint hard enough towards the end of the chapter, there is some light fluffy smut...ENJOY!

Own nothing but my OC!

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Loki entered the apartment and shut the door, leaning against it with relief. He'd managed to slip away from the scene with minimal hassle when the focus of the crowd turned on the driver, who had apparently been travelling too fast according to the imposed speed limit in the area.

He noticed Jane, Thor, Ian and Darcy sitting on the couch and other chairs watching some programme on the television.

"Brother!" Thor said when he turned to him. "How was the meeting with Doctor Daniel?"

The cheekiness in his brother's tone made him smile, now that he decided not to deny himself the pleasure of his 'crush' as Jane would put it. But hopefully, Thor would not press the matter. "It was very informative," he said simply. To avoid any undue questions, he quickly fled to his room. "I'm going to meet with him tonight so I need to get ready." He glared at Thor, who had opened his mouth, no doubt to make fun of him. "Please, no comments, brother. Your teasing is becoming incessant." Thor closed his mouth and shrugged but said nothing more.

Inside his room, his heart began to beat faster. He'd got his strength and power back, so obviously the All-Father felt he was worthy, but why had he not called him up to Asgard? It was probably a good thing as right now, he didn't _want_ to go. He looked up to the ceiling, looking beyond the building towards Heimdall. "I know you can hear me," he said softly. "I thank my father for his trust. But…I'm not ready to come back." He at least wanted to see Daniel tonight and tell him the news, but the urgency he had felt before to return home wasn't there anymore. He would return, but not right now.

He had no visible indication that Heimdall had heard him, but a sense of serenity washed over him, and he took that as the sign that he would not be called to Asgard just yet. He said a silent thank you and began getting ready.

He showered and got dressed, choosing a black button up shirt turned up at the sleeves and black trousers, but in the interim, the doorbell went. Loki was just putting his shoes when he heard Thor bellow. "LOKI!"

Loki left his room. "What?" he snapped, then his heart dropped into his stomach. Nick Fury, Agent Barton and Agent Romanov were standing in the main room, and all eyes were on him. This would not be good. "Director Fury," he said pulling himself together and walked towards them. "I thought you never wanted to see me again."

"No, I didn't. But I also expected you to be back in Asgard the minute you became a threat again."

"A threat?" Loki's eyes narrowed.

Thor stepped forward. "Director Fury, Loki is no more a threat than a regular person now. He has done what you suggested and spent his time in your care. You released him to me and now you make false accusations?"

Fury looked from Thor to Loki. "So, you haven't told him then?"

"Told me what?" Thor asked.

Romanov snorted. "It would appear that as soon as he gets his powers back he begins with the lies or the omissions as the case may be," she said.

Loki objected angrily. "No lies have passed my lips, and not mentioning something insignificant is _not_ a lie of omission."

"Insignificant?" Black Widow all but laughed with disbelief.

"Wait, Loki, you have your magic back?" Thor looked at him and Loki cringed at the immediate disappointment in his eyes. "When did this happen?"

Loki looked from person to person, starting to get the familiar feeling that everyone was expecting the worst from him. It churned in his stomach and he wanted to disappear, but when his eyes laid on Barton, he didn't see the same look of indignation. Barton's look was insistent, as if he were encouraging him to simply speak his mind, that the situation wasn't as bad as he was assuming. Feeling a little less overwhelmed, he nodded imperceptibly at the archer. "Only a few hours ago, I think. But," he said quickly, "I simply didn't tell you because it's of no consequence. I was expecting to be whisked back to Asgard, but Father has not called for me and I haven't wanted to go back right away anyway."

"Cuz you got a date!" Darcy laughed. "Looking good by the way."

"Thank you," he said. He looked at Thor, his eyes pleading. "Brother, please, can we not make a big deal about this? Simply put, I am not a threat just because I am whole again."

"I agree," Barton said. "He did jump in front of a moving vehicle to save a little girl's life, and I'm willing to bet he didn't know he had his power back at the time based on his reaction to the whole thing."

"You were following me?" Loki asked the Hawk.

"Just keeping an eye on things."

The whole affair almost deteriorated with Agent arguing with Agent. Apparently, Black Widow didn't think Loki could ever be redeemed and Agent Barton argued that anyone could change. It shut Agent Romanov up spectacularly, and Loki was reminded of their conversation on the Helicarrier about the red in her ledger. At the same time, Thor was babbling to Loki about his actions and asking why he didn't think to mention something so important to him. Jane, Darcy and Ian were talking to him about the little fact that he'd saved a life, and it was all getting too much for him to handle. He looked at the only other person in the room who wasn't talking.

"Enough!" Fury shouted and the room descended into silence. "I think it would be best if everyone just calmed down." He turned to Thor. "Are you confident that if I leave that Loki will not attempt anything stupid?"

Thor drew himself to his full height. "If he had wanted to do something, he would have done it by now. For the past months all Loki has wanted was to return to Asgard to be given the throne. The fact that our father has returned his power to him and Loki has not immediately left, in addition to the therapy he endured and the life he saved, I would safely say he is no longer a threat to this world. You felt this too when you gave him into my care."

"A simple yes would have sufficed," Fury said. "I had no real concerns, just wanted to make sure for myself that everything was as it should be." He turned to leave, but turned back to Loki. "Don't linger for too long. You are not _that_ welcome here."

Loki bristled inside, but nodded silently. Of course they wouldn't just accept him after what he'd done before, but he had been given his second chance. He would see the doctor tonight and then go see his father.

Fury and Agent Romanov left. Barton walked over to Loki and put a hand on his shoulder. "For what it's worth," he began, "I think you're in with a shot tonight."

After Fury, Hawkeye and Black Widow left, the room had filled again with questions about getting his powers back, saving the girl, and Thor had continued to remonstrate that Loki should have spoken up.

"When did you get your powers back?" Jane.

"Why did you feel the need to keep this from me, brother?" Thor.

"Did anyone see you save the child?" Jane again.

"Did you not think that I would welcome the news?" Thor again.

"Do you think all black is the way to go for your date?" Darcy.

"Why have you not asked Heimdall to open the Bifrost?" Thor yet again.

"Green is more your colour." Darcy again.

"I have a watch you can borrow which would tie that outfit together nicely." Ian.

The questions were fired at him even as he made his way back into his room to get the last of his things. He picked his coat up, noticing that it still had the tear from the car's impact. He groaned and then stopped, remembering he could fix it. A simple wave of his fingers over the rip had it repaired in short order. He grinned, and headed towards the front door, biting the inside of his cheek to stop from yelling at everyone to leave him alone.

"Brother, where are you going?" Thor asked with a bit too much annoyance in his voice.

Loki spun around, his eyes flashing with annoyance. "Enough,' he hissed to everyone. "Thor: as I said before, I did not mention my condition, not to cause you any hurt or anguish or to deceive, but because it is of little consequence to me right at the moment. And I have not gone home because I need to see the doctor before I go. Even if I hadn't already been due to meet him, I would have delayed going home to see him as soon as possible. The things we discussed are important to him. I won't just leave without some closure."

He turned to Jane. "I am not sure when they returned, but I would imagine it was right before I was hit by a speeding vehicle. And yes, there were lots of people gathering after the impact, so I would imagine they did see it."

He looked at Darcy and Ian. "Is the black too much? Should I change?"

Darcy shook her head laughing. "Nah, dude, relax! I was just messing with you. It looks good." Loki opened his mouth to start saying something else, but she stopped him. "And yeah, yeah, it's not a 'date'. Sorry, you're not gonna convince me otherwise especially with _that_ reaction."

Loki gave a small laugh, not bothering to continue with the denial that even he was beginning to realise was futile. He held his hand out to Ian. Ian took off his watch and handed it to Loki wordlessly. "Thank you, my friend," he said. He put the watch on. "Now, if you'll all excuse me…" He turned to open the apartment door. '…I have a date."

* * *

Loki looked at the watch. It was almost an hour earlier than he'd arranged to meet the doctor, but he decided to go into the club anyway, if only to get away from Thor and the others. Upon entering, he was struck by the loudness of the music and how crowded it was. It buzzed in his ears. There was a stage at the back of the loud room, and a band was already playing. Darcy had, in her boredom, tried to tell him about Midgardian music. He'd not grasped the concept of all the different types there was. Grunge, Pop, Rock…they all blended into one another in Loki's mind. He'd stopped her after a little while citing that he had no need for her explanations of the genres, and that he didn't care what kind of music it was; if he liked it, he liked it.

Loki found that Darcy's talk had unknowingly educated him a small measure when he recognised the song that was being played, and that the band was not the original, but more a tribute act. The beat was lively and the singer at the microphone was energetically jumping around to the beat before he began signing again. His voice was deep and lilting. **(1)**

_**If I could talk to you, embrace you, whisper in your ear, I would tell you. **_

_**That you…are…the only, the only thing I need!**_

Loki noticed that there was a coat check station and he handed the coat to the girl behind, who gave him a ticket and a wink. He thanked her and turned to walk towards the bar. He ordered a beer as the song was winding down and the crowd was going wild.

"Thank you!" the singer said holding tightly onto the microphone. "That was our tribute to Dogzilla's 'Without You'. We know you love that one!" The crowd cheered louder. The singer laughed. "But now, we have a treat," he said, his voice dropping lower, almost like it was conspiratorial. The crowd quieted down, but only marginally. "As some of you may know if you've been fans for a while, we have an honorary singer who likes to let loose every once in a while." Some people in the crowd obviously knew who he was talking about because they whooped. "Some of you here tonight may know him in a different capacity as the Healer, or the Mindbender, but we all love him, despite the fact he never stops asking that stupid question of '_How does that make you feel?_'!" The crowd tittered and cheered. "Everyone, please give it up for our beloved, Danny Atwell!"

Loki raised his eyebrows at the announcement and the crowd went absolutely feral as the man to walk on stage dressed in calf-high boots, casually between done and undone laces, tight black jeans, white t-shirt and cropped black leather jacket, his hair recently chopped shorter than Loki had seen before, slicked back out of his face in an endearing way, waved to the crowd with a not-so-shy smile on his still-bespeckled face. Loki let out a small disbelieving laugh. So, his doctor friend was not all that he appeared in more than one way.

"Thank you!" Daniel said into the recently vacated mike. "Are we all well tonight?" The crowd answered vehemently and Daniel laughed. "Well, that's good, otherwise I may have to have you all tested with a psych evaluation. How can you not feel good when these guys are playing, huh?" He gestured to the singer and the band. The singer bowed modestly as the crowd continued their ceaseless praise. "Tonight, I'm singing a favourite of mine. You may remember the hit from 2004…wow…such a long time ago, and I was such a geek at the time. I hope I do it proud. This is 'Give it Away' by Deepest Blue!"

The crowd turned manic around Loki as the music started up. Loki grinned and leaned against the bar, arms folded, waiting to take it all in, hoping to be able to poke some fun at Daniel for this later. He'd obviously invited Loki to the club later so that he wouldn't hear this, and Loki was going to jump on that tidbit full force.

But when the doctor began to sing, Loki's hope to be able to make fun was dissolved. **(2)**

_**I never return to love somebody,  
Now all that I need is all I see in you,  
And only you.  
And if you get lost I'll always find you,  
You're all that I need, your heart will keep you true,  
My only you.**_

The doctor's voice was soft and melodic. It felt like it could cure everything that ails a person's soul. Each pitch and dip was perfect in Loki's ears, although having never heard the original, Loki had no frame of reference, but the combination of the tones was very pleasing.

_**You make me fall and I can't sleep,  
You want it all but it's too deep,  
And I can't give it away,  
I just can't give it away.**_

The doctor obviously was enjoying this. He held the mike stand with conviction, and passion exuded from his throat with each verse. He leaned in closer for the chorus, the other band member joining in as back up.

_**When you slowly close your eyes,  
Replay the moment in your mind,  
Just give it away,  
Just give it away!**_

_**Don't ever forget to tell somebody,  
The feelings inside to make your dreams come true,  
I dream of you.  
To feel so alive and want somebody,  
It's not make believe my world would be for you,  
And only you.**_

_**You make me fall and I can't sleep,  
You want it all but it's too deep,  
And I can't give it away,  
I just can't give it away!**_

_**When you slowly close your eyes,  
Replay the moment in your mind,  
Breathe in and give it away,  
Breathe out and give it away!**_

_**When you slowly close your eyes,  
Replay the moment in your mind,  
Breathe in and give it away,  
Breathe out and give it away!**_

During the last few lines of the verse, Daniel removed the mike from the stand, and had it out to the crowd for them to sing the last lines. He took delight in their participation returning the mike to the stand to finish the song.

_**You make me fall and I can't sleep,  
You want it all but it's too deep,  
And I can't give it away,  
I just can't give it away!**_

_**When you slowly close your eyes,  
Replay the moment in your mind,  
Breathe in and give it away,  
Breathe out and give it away!**_

_**When you slowly close your eyes,  
Replay the moment in your mind,  
Breathe in and give it away,  
Breathe out and give it away.**_

The song came to a close and Daniel stepped away from the microphone, the crowd chanting his name, whooping, and Loki could see a sparkle in his eyes, even from this distance. Maybe it was because Loki knew of the iridescence beneath the coloured lenses, but he could swear that Daniel's eyes shone with the hue of opulence.

Daniel took the mike again, panting slightly. "Thank you!" he said, still smiling. He pointed to the band. "Weren't they great?" The crowd was still enthusiastic. "I'll let these guys get back to providing you with _actual_ entertainment now!"

The lead singer came over and gave Daniel a hug and pat on the back and whispered something into Daniel's ear that no one else could hear. He grabbed the mike. "Wasn't he great? Danny Atwell everybody!" Loki was sure everyone in the crowd would have hoarse voices in the morning for all their screaming. Daniel waved and proceeded to leave the stage. "We're going to take a break now for about half an hour, but our resident DJ Marny, is going to keep the feeling alive with banging dance music, aren't you, pal?" The singer gave a thumbs up to the DJ in the corner, who gave his own thumbs up. "Don't go anywhere!"

The DJ began playing as the band members filed off the stage. Loki saw them stop to talk to Daniel and he decided there was no reason to delay their meeting. He downed the rest of his beer and left the bar to squeeze passed the crowd. He approached the small group with purpose and the lead singer noticed. "Oh, Danny, I think you have a fan," he said with a grin.

Daniel turned round. Loki was expecting a more surprised or possibly horrified look from him, but instead he got a broad smile and lit up eyes. "Loki? Hey, I guess you saw that then?"

Loki nodded with a wolfish grin. "Was I not supposed to?" he asked.

Daniel laughed, his eye positively sparkling. "Well, it wasn't intentional. I didn't know I was going on until Jason here dragged me into it."

"Yes, like you needed your arm twisting _that_ much!" the man called Jason jested. One of the instrument players pulled on Jason's shirt and tipped his head to an exit behind the stage. "Oh, I've got to go, but I'll be back in thirty? Want to come on again?"

Daniel shook his head. "No, I'm good."

Jason shrugged as he was pulled away. "Suit yourself. See you later, Dan!"

Daniel waved them off and turned back to Loki. They stood there awkwardly for a few moments before Daniel asked, "Want a drink?"

Loki nodded. They made their way to the bar, Daniel ordering two beers. They meandered through the crowd towards the small seating area, and managed to perch on two vacant chairs next to each other.

Loki took a large mouthful of his drink. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you thrived on that moment on the stage."

Daniel chuckled. "It's not something I make known to everyone, that I like singing, let alone that I'm good at it." He downed his drink in one long draught. "It's thirsty work," he said, burping politely. "You know that I tend not to talk about myself when I'm working."

Loki didn't feel compelled to finish his second drink to keep up with Daniel as quickly. He knew Midgardian alcohol was nothing like Asgardian, so he was under no illusions that finishing his drinks quickly would do anything to him, but he decided to just take a sip of the frankly bitter tasting drink. "Still," he started, "I wouldn't have imagined you doing anything like that."

"I loved singing as a child, and dancing for that matter," Daniel said wistfully. "My mother encouraged it greatly; said it was a joy to listen to. At one point, I wanted to become a professional singer, but decided to take the safer route to becoming a doctor. Then, well, you know the trajectory my career took." Daniel gestured to the crowd and the stage. "I like making people happy, and they like it when I sing and I feel good when I dance. Jason and the others are always trying to get me to join their band permanently, but I'm too busy for it. They let me know when they're in London and I try to get to their performances whenever I can, but it's few and far between." Daniel tipped his glass back and sucked in the last dregs, looking disappointed when it wasn't enough for a mouthful. "Should've got two," he mumbled with a hiccup, and Loki suddenly wondered how many drinks the doctor had had already.

Loki was just about to suggest he go get another when the lively tune being played blended into another one and Daniel perked his head up. **(3)** "Oh, I love this one!" He turned to Loki. "Dance?" Loki shook his head. "I'm going to," Daniel said jumping up. He sidled up to a girl who was dancing alone, hips swaying with the beat. The girl stopped for a few moments to watch him, then smiled and mimicked his movements. As the beat built to a crescendo and sped up, Daniel added some fancy footwork into the mix. The girl threw her head back and laughed with glee and stood back watching as he let go fully.

At a more intimate part of the song, Daniel grabbed the girl by the hand bringing her close to his body, her back against his chest and swayed their hips together in time to the music. Loki recognised the movements as quite erotic, and he felt a pang of jealousy, but it didn't last and soon the doctor was swinging the girl round, the crowd having made a bit of room for them. Loki watched with slight awe and respect for the young man. He was a completely different entity to the one he knew in the sessions they'd had.

As the song came to an end, the doctor dipped his partner low. She giggled and when he brought her back up, they hugged each other. Then another song came on and the doctor retired back to his seat. "_That_ was exhilarating!" Daniel proclaimed panting slightly.

"You are full of surprises tonight, doctor," Loki admitted.

Daniel looked at his glass, which was empty, so grabbed Loki's brazenly, another surprise, Loki found. After taking a quick sip, he gave it back. "Sorry," he apologised. "I've had a few already, and it lowers my inhibitions." He grinned cheekily.

Loki looked at the girl, who was now dancing with a female friend. "I thought you said you preferred the company of men."

Daniel crooked an eyebrow up. "Jealous?" he asked with no malice. Loki scoffed unconvincingly. "She's a friend of mine," Daniel went on to explain. "She knows I'm gay. Most of the club goers who come here regularly know this about me."

"I thought you said it was a big secret," Loki said, suddenly wondering if the doctor had used another tool to disarm him all those sessions ago.

Daniel managed to look a little guilty. "Well, I may have lied, which I know is very hypocritical of me considering the circumstance of our encounters together, but I can assure you…"

Loki put a hand up. "Don't worry," he said. He was slightly annoyed, but he knew it would pass. It had been a clever tactic, one that he could appreciate. "Lying to the Liesmith…ingenious." He smirked. Daniel visibly relaxed.

Loki opened his mouth, about to say he'd go get another drink for the doctor, when a man approached them. "Danny?" the tall slim man asked putting a hand on Daniel's shoulder and getting between him and Loki. Loki narrowed his eyes at the back of the man's head.

Daniel turned to him and Loki saw his face pale. "Ben?" he asked. _Ben_, Loki thought. _Where have I heard that name? _"What are you doing here?"

The man, Ben, stood taller than Daniel, Loki could tell that much, but shorter than him. He had curly dark brown hair, a slim face with full lips and piercing blue-green eyes, high cheek-bones and strong jaw. He was wearing a blue shirt with a white t-shirt underneath, dark blue jeans and smart shoes.

"I'm here to see you actually," Ben said, his voice deep.

"Me? Why?" Daniel asked, an edge of annoyance in his voice.

"Because I needed to see you. Been trying to track you down for a couple of months actually." Ben leaned against the table they were sitting at, completely ignoring the fact that Loki was sitting right there. "I come here every time I know Jason and the others are playing in the hopes I'd run into you." He put a hand on Daniel's. "I heard about your mother. I am so sorry for your loss." The sympathy, Loki thought, was laced with insincerity.

Daniel took his hand back. "Yeah, thanks," he snapped. "Why have you been looking for me, Ben?"

"I made a huge mistake, Danny, leaving you like that," Ben said.

Daniel laughed derisively. "_I_ left _you_," he said quietly. "After what you did to me."

Loki then placed the name. It was the ex-boyfriend that his Aunt had mentioned when she thought they were together at the wake. Not knowing the full extent of what had happened between the two, he decided to give them a moment or two. He cleared his throat. "I'll just get another drink," he said, getting up to leave.

"Yes, you do that," Ben said immediately sitting in his vacated seat.

Loki resisted the urge to throttle the man and went to the bar, another twinge of jealousy stabbing at him. He ordered another two beers and while waiting for the order to be filled, he turned to look at the interaction between the two men. Daniel was gesturing wildly, Ben smiling with condescension, his facial expression dismissive of what Daniel was saying. Ben put a hand to Daniel's face saying something, which was promptly slapped away. Loki saw Ben frown. He said something with teeth bared and Daniel looked taken aback. Daniel recovered and countered, and Ben stood up immediately. He grabbed Daniel's arm pointing towards the exit. Daniel snatched his arm away with an obvious 'no way', but Ben grabbed him by the upper arm, his large hand easily encircling Daniel's small bicep. He then proceeded to pull Daniel towards the exit, the smaller man ineffectively trying to pull away, but it was obvious he was no match for Ben's strength.

Abandoning his order, Loki weaved his way quickly towards them. He was stopped by several dancers and groups of girls chattering. "Move!" he hissed at them and shoved his way passed them. He was still a slight way away when Ben and Daniel left the club. He followed shortly after and saw Daniel pulled into the alley behind the club. Loki followed after, but stopped at the mouth of the alley to listen carefully at what was going on. He didn't want to blunder in if he wasn't needed. He cloaked himself and rounded the corner to watch, ready to intervene if necessary. He also inwardly cursed the loudness of the music that had been in the club. His head was still buzzing. He shook the cobwebs clear and concentrated on the scene in front of him.

"Let go of me, Ben!" Daniel shouted, finally pulling his arm free of Ben's grip.

"I don't think you get what I'm saying," Ben snarled, not bothering to take up the position again. "I want you back."

"And I'm saying that after what you did to me, I am not going to take you back. You cheated on me, undermined me when I found out, put me down at every opportunity, threatened to kill me if I left you…the police got involved. I only didn't push for any charges because you promised to leave me alone, which you have done. So why come to me now?"

Ben took in a deep breath, as if he was trying to calm himself down. He still spoke through clenched jaw though. "I was giving you some time to come to your senses. I never really left you alone. I've been making sure you've been okay, coming to see you sing at the club a couple of times." He smiled fondly and stepped towards Daniel. "You still sing so beautifully.'" He went to put a hand to Daniel's face again.

This time, Daniel didn't slap the hand away, and closed his eyes when Ben's hand touched his cheek. He almost leaned into the touch, but came to his senses, stepping away. "That's just creepy," he stated. "Stalking me, Ben? Really?"

Ben's expression grew angry again. "I couldn't just let you go! I don't think what I did was so bad that you had to break us up. So what if I fucked a few other guys. They meant nothing to me."

"Are you really so arrogant to think that's okay?!" Daniel countered. "It's not okay, Ben! I loved you, and you showed it to me how? By basically saying I wasn't good enough for you."

"You _were_ good enough for me," Ben said with a low voice, looking for all intents and purposes like he was a stack about to blow. "You still are." He cleared his throat and put on a smile that Loki didn't like one bit. "Let's just put it all in the past and move forwards, huh? Start again?"

Daniel backed a step away towards the alley opening and turned away from the other man. "Please leave, Ben."

"You've had a few, Dan, you're not thinking clearly. Why don't you just come back to mine…"

Daniel spun round, his voice rising. "I don't _need_ to think clearly! We are over; we have been over for a long time. You checked out of the relationship long before I did, so now, you don't get to dictate what I do anymore." He took in a deep breath. "I'm not going with you to _anywhere_. Now, goodbye!"

Ben's face broke into an evil grin. "Oh no, this isn't '_goodbye_', Danny. You _will _come back to me, willingly or not!" With a growl, Ben made a grab for Daniel, but Loki was there in an instant, dropping his cloak. He stepped between the two and snatched Ben's wrist in a crushing grip spinning him round and slamming him against the cold brick wall placing a hand loosely around his neck. Daniel, surprised by Loki's sudden appearance, stumbled backwards, and fell onto his arse. Ben was shocked, his eyes widening.

Loki rose to his full height and glared warningly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, _Ben_," he said with steely determination spitting the dark-haired man's name out.

Ben tried to pull away from Loki's grip, but Loki, with his Aesir strength returned, did not let him. "Let go of me, you freak!"

"Give me one good reason why I should not shatter your wrist or squeeze the life out of you here as you stand?" Loki said tightening his hold on both a bit more. He felt a little bit of his old self creep back into his soul. He allowed this, if only to menace the man who would do the same to Daniel. He turned to look at the sandy-haired man, who had gotten up and was watching the scene agape. Loki looked back to Ben, who was using his other hand to try and pry Loki's fingers off of him. He pulled him away from the wall and closer to him with a jerk of his arm. "I said give me a reason!" he hissed.

Ben looked suitably scared. "I…I wasn't going to…" he choked out.

"Of course you weren't," Loki said, disappointed by the man's panic. Once, he would have revelled in the state, but now, he had no desire to make mortals fear him. But he did feel the need to protect Daniel. He turned his body and tripped Ben to the ground, letting go suddenly. "I suggest that you leave. Now!"

Ben scrambled up and looked at Daniel, who had moved away and was leaning against the wall of the alley. "This isn't over, Danny. Mark my words; you _will_ be seeing me again." Loki took a step forward with a growl and Ben flinched, then turned to run.

When Ben had left, Loki turned to Daniel, stepping forwards, all his anger dissipating. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern touching the edge of his voice.

Daniel's eyes were wide. "You…your…powers…" He tried to get his words out, not leaving the wall, clinging to it like a safety net.

Loki knew that he'd not told Daniel that he had his powers back; he'd been waiting for a better time, and hadn't thought that the fact might be difficult for him to accept. "Daniel," he began to reason, holding his hands up to show the other man he meant no harm, his eyes pleading. "You know what I am, and you knew that I might get them back. That is no basis to fear me."

Daniel looked confused. "Fear you?" He finally stepped away from the wall. "Oh, Loki…" He chuckled. "You really have been messed up to the point that you think showing your power to me is enough to make me scared?" Daniel smiled widely. "I was just shaken by what just happened. I'm happy for _you_! And you saved me."

Loki ran his fingers through his hair. He couldn't believe how quickly Daniel just accepted the news, even considering the way he'd found out. How different he was to those others around him who immediately jumped to negative conclusions. It was very refreshing. The doctor was truly a remarkable person. He gave a short laugh of relief. "It appears to be a trend these days." Then he grew more serious. "I did not like that…for want of a better word…bully."

Daniel sighed. "Yes, and it took him cheating on me about seven times for me to realise just what a prick he is." Daniel shivered. "Let's go back inside. I need another drink."

The rest of the evening in the club was uneventful. Loki told Daniel about his powers being restored to him when he saved the girl, Fury's visit and Thor and the others' reactions.

Daniel, despite having downed another beer or two since the incident with Ben, had his psychologist head on. "You can understand why they might feel threatened though, can't you?" he asked, swaying slightly in his seat. "There's no reason to be angry with them. Director Fury still believes that you're not a threat anymore, otherwise he would have taken you back in."

"He would have tried," Loki corrected with a low rumble, and then shook his head. "Oh, how easily I slip back into my old ways," he mused sadly.

"But the progression is that you _know_ you're doing it," Daniel slurred, the beer affecting him more now that any adrenaline had subsided. "You can recognise the anger. You just need to think about it _before_ you act." He poked Loki on his forehead, playfully. He then dipped his eyes, almost shyly. "Were you holding back? When Ben dragged me outside?"

Loki nodded, sipping his beer. "I didn't want to interfere in case you didn't want me too. But I could read his intention before he attacked you, and I couldn't let that happen."

Daniel sipped more slowly on his new drink. "So, I never really asked you, but what sort of powers do you have?"

Loki shrugged. "My powers are not limited. They are entirely based on my ability to control what you would call magic. I told you my mother taught me those arts. Of course, you have to have the initial abilities to manipulate such power."

Daniel smiled. "So, what can you do, exactly?"

Loki sighed and shifted in his seat. "Almost anything. I have some mind control ability, although it's not to the extent that the Chitauri sceptre gave me. I can mildly influence lesser creatures, such as you humans." Loki saw Daniel's smile drop. "Fear not. I have never made anyone do anything they themselves didn't want to do. I can read peoples' desires and can influence them slightly. This is why I could see the malice in your ex-partner's.

"I am a master of illusion. I frequently am able to create clones of myself, and they are not always insubstantial. I only do that to irritate Thor and confound my enemies though. On that same basis, I can create an illusion of something and bring it into reality. Mind you, although it may have substance, it's not a true replica. But some things don't matter. It's usually just temporary. I cannot have a clone walking around for very long, it taxes me too much. And, as you saw, I can become invisible to the eye. This too is a simple illusion.

"My magic allows for many other things, such as access to pocket dimensions." He waved his hand and a small dagger appeared in his palm and with a flick of his wrist, it vanished as quickly so as not to alarm any of the club goers. "I have access to many a thing in there, including the Casket of Winters that the All-Father took from the Frost Giants. I am also able to detect and utilise the hidden pathways between the realms as well as stretch them or make them smaller, the ability which, I am pleased to say, I have not seen duplicated by any other individual." Loki chuckled. "Thor thought the pathway between Asgard and Svartalfheim was too small when we approached it, but I made it wide enough for the glider to go through. Yes, I didn't stretch it quite wide enough, but this was merely to add an element of mischief to the act. Thor's face…" He laughed at the memory.

Loki thought more. "What else? Ah, yes, although not something I do often, I am able to 'teleport' as you humans say. I don't do it regularly as it's a skill that uses up a lot of my energy. Stretching and bending pathways between realms is less strenuous, although I have no idea why one would be so much more difficult than the other since they are based on the same fundamentals of the craft. Possibly because those pathways are already present, and 'teleporting' requires opening new ones.

"Amongst other things, shape-shifting, physical manipulation…" He saw Daniel raise an eyebrow. "…I can move things without touching them," he explained. To demonstrate, he held a hand out and Daniel's beer glass slid into his waiting palm. He grinned as Daniel watched wide-eyed as he sipped the other man's drink, retribution for earlier.

Daniel recovered, swiping his glass back and then propped his head up on his hand underneath his chin. "What about your Jotun heritage? Don't the Frost Giants have special abilities?"

Loki shivered, trying not to remember how he'd flooded his body with cold to save his life on the Dark World. He'd never really explored that side of his abilities. And when he'd wielded the Casket of Winters, his body had naturally returned to its Jotun form, so it was not something he'd thought about at the time. "I suppose there must be some things I can do, but I have no desire to do them. Perhaps if the need were to arise, I might use them." He hoped he never would though.

Daniel yawned, looking sluggish. "I wonder if you could make it snow?" he said sleepily.

"That would require a degree of control of the weather, _not_ my Frost Giant abilities." Daniel went to put his head against the table they were sitting at, his cheek resting in a spill of beer. "I think it's time to go," Loki said getting up. He helped the young man off his seat and put his arm around Daniel's waist. To his credit, the doctor was not so unsteady on his feet, only protesting mildly as Loki steered him towards the exit. Loki remembered at the last moment to get his coat.

Outside, it was drizzling and cold and Daniel seemed to sober up considerably when a gust of wind blew down the street. "I _knew_ I should have brought a coat with me," Daniel complained.

Loki immediately draped his coat over Daniel's shoulders, who looked at him questioningly. "Frost Giant," he said simply and with a level of control he didn't realise he had. Admitting his heritage had become somewhat measurably easier, but it still grated on him. When he first found out, Loki then knew why the cold had never bothered him. Thankfully, Daniel said nothing else and led them towards the nearest tube station that would take them to his place, at Loki's insistence.

"I'm sorry I'm such a wreck tonight," Daniel said to Loki as they sat side by side in the empty carriage.

"It's understandable," Loki said absently running his hand up and down Daniel's back. "You've had a hard time. We all do strange things in our grief." Images of destroying everything in his prison cell in Asgard's dungeons after the death of his mother flashed in his mind.

They got off at the appropriate stop and then it was just a short walk to Daniel's apartment. They walked in comfortable silence along the quiet residential street. Outside Daniel's building, he turned to Loki and smiled. "Thanks for coming out tonight. I needed a distraction. And I think you needed it too."

"It was pleasant," Loki agreed. He looked into Daniel's eyes. Despite the amount of alcohol the doctor had consumed, the orbs were not bloodshot, and of course the coloured lenses were bright as ever. Loki absently wondered if Daniel was ever going to feel comfortable without them. "Are you going to be alright?"

Daniel looked intently at him. "I'll be fine." Then he leaned forwards and kissed Loki full on the lips.

Loki was shocked. He had been wondering if he'd been reading the doctor correctly. There had been many signals that Loki had read that evening to mean Daniel might be interested in something physical with him. Before his magic had been restored, it had been simple conjecture. And without a doubt, he'd been lying to himself if he said he wasn't interested.

But, Loki knew the doctor was not thinking clearly. He put his hands on Daniel's shoulders and pulled away from the kiss slowly so as not to out-rightly reject the young man. He saw Daniel's face fall, and almost decided to kiss him back just to remove the frown from his features.

Daniel voiced his confusion. "I don't understand," he said. "Why did you pull away?"

Loki held him at arm's length and looked directly into Daniel's eyes so he could show him he meant was what he was about to say. "You are plainly not in your right mind." He put a finger on Daniel's lips as the sandy-haired man went to protest. "You have been dealing with the crippling loss of your mother. Some…obnoxious god of mischief," he said with a small laugh, "brought chaos down on you by telling you that you are descendent from an alien race that was all but wiped out nearly 700 years ago." He moved the finger gently over Daniel's lips to lightly grip the side of his face. "You were just attacked by a moron who obviously didn't realise what he had when he was with you." He brought his other hand up from Daniel's shoulder so both were cupping the smaller man's face. "And you are exceedingly intoxicated. Please do not take this to mean I am not very much attracted to you, because I am. I could press my advantage. I could kiss you back and then allow you to lead me upstairs to your dwelling. I could allow you to guide me to your bed and oh, how I would tear those clothes from you without haste, and I could allow you to let me pound into you so hard you forget everything except my name." He heard Daniel inhale sharply at the imagery Loki's words no doubt brought to his imagination, a deep blush rising to his cheeks. Loki leaned forwards and pressed his cool forehead against Daniel's heated one. "But I know in your current state of mind that you would regret it come the morning. To take that advantage would mean you might hate me for it, and I don't think I could stand that. You are currently one of the only beings to have any true faith and trust in me, and for the life of me, I value that deeply."

He pulled back to allow Daniel some space and watched the man look into his eyes, searching for something, perhaps wanting to see how sincere he was. Daniel's face was full of conflict, of desire, of guilt; Loki could read them all. After a few moments, still with some trepidation in his eyes, Daniel spoke, his voice a mere whisper laced with lust. "Please, make me forget everything, Loki."

Loki closed his eyes for a few seconds to order his thoughts, resisting every fibre of his being to ignore his own words and simply take this slightly broken human up on his desperate request. When he opened them again, he smiled gently. "If you wake up in the daylight, and don't immediately wish none of your actions had transpired, _then_ perhaps I will do just that."

Daniel opened his mouth to say something, and then chuckled. "Great. The deviant god of disorder grew a moral conscience at the most inopportune time." He smiled ruefully. "I guess I did too good of a job to help you find the man you probably once used to be before all this started."

"Indeed," Loki agreed, "but it doesn't mean I won't oblige you if you were to ask again…when you are less inebriated."

Daniel shook his head, probably more at his own foolishness than Loki's rejection. He unhooked his keys from his belt and turned to open the main door to the building.

Loki went to stop him. If Daniel was going to have regrets in the morning, wasn't it better to give him what he asked for? No, Loki had made his decision and stayed his hand. He bunched his hand into a fist and brought it to his side, worrying his bottom lips with his teeth. When Daniel got the door open, Loki turned to leave.

"Loki?" With a small hitch in his chest, Loki turned to look at Daniel, not sure if he would be able to stop himself if the young man insisted. Daniel was looking at him with a frown. "Will I see you again? I mean, now that you've got your powers back, won't you be returning to Asgard?"

Loki went back over to the doctor stepping right up to him so that there was hardly any space between them. He took Daniel's hand into his and looked at the ring again. He could now tell that the buzzing he'd been feeling since entering the club was his affinity for the stone in the ring. "It _is_ Claris Amethyst," he said with certainty. "I will go back, but I will return once I have spoken with my father. After all, I promised you that I would help you to find your place in this universe, and I will stick to that promise." He stepped back. "So don't worry."

Daniel smiled a goofy grin, the earlier tension lifting from him. "In that case, I will bid you farewell," he said bowing with a flourish. "King of Asgard."

Loki chuckled and then watched Daniel disappear into the building relief flooding his entire body.

* * *

A/N: Well, what did you think? Please please please review. Sorry it was such a long one, but a lot appened that is integral to the story. Nothing in this chapter should be forgotten! Hope you were paying attention. And I told you if you squinted hard enough there was some smut. *smirks* More to come later.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello, sorry for the delay, but I've been trying to stretch the time between chapters because we're getting dangerously close to where I have stopped writing because I'm stuck. Should get another two small chapters after this one before that happens though. And getting close to smut too. :D

The two parts of this chapter I enjoyed writing the most is the flashback and the fight (what fight? You'll have to read on!). Please, if you've read this far and are enjoying it, please review and let me know if you enjoyed them, or if anything could be improved upon. I will soon be asking for your help to finish.

In the mean time, enjoy! Remember, _italics_ are flashbacks or thoughts or people speaking who are not in the room.

Own nothing but my OC!

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Loki opened the door to the apartment and peeked round the door. He was relieved when it was dark and there didn't seem to be anyone up to tease him about his outing. He closed the door quietly and wandered over to his room.

"Evening, brother," a soft voice came from the kitchen area.

Loki stayed his hand on the handle of his door and groaned. _Damn_, he thought. "Thor, what are you doing sitting in the dark?"

Thor emerged from the shadows clutching a bottle of water as Loki turned to look at him. "I was merely getting something to drink."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Right. So you weren't waiting for my return to continue our earlier conversation?"

Thor looked wounded by the comment. "Of course not. Besides, after you left, I received quite the tongue lashing from Jane."

Loki turned from the door and shivered. "I don't want to know what the two of you get up to when I'm not around." He dug into his pocket to pull out the phone Jane had given him, placing it on the coffee table before slumping heavily onto the couch.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Thor said softly, sitting next to him. "I am sorry, Loki. I know I shouldn't jump to conclusions all the time with you, but you can understand that over a thousand years of trickery cannot immediately be extinguished by a few therapy sessions and a couple of acts of redemption. Call it habit rather than malice."

Loki nodded. He did understand remembering how easy it had been to threaten the mortal Ben earlier. "Habits are hard to break," he agreed. "So you will understand that I may still be inclined to play some tricks for fun, but nowhere near as bad as what I did to ruin your coronation."

Thor smiled. "I have to admit, though, it worked out in the end. Had that not occurred and you not convinced me to go to Jotunheim and caused my banishment, I would never have met Jane."

"That's certainly one way to look at it." He sighed and rubbed his face, then smiled. "Well, I'm glad it all worked out for you. Perhaps I should become the God of Matchmaking. Please note, results may vary and are by no means guaranteed."

Thor laughed heartily. "And I'm sure things will work out for you now, brother," Thor said placing a hand on Loki's shoulder briefly.

They sat in easy silence for a few moments before Thor asked him how the evening went. Loki told him about the doctor's singing and dancing, and the encounter with Ben. He didn't bother to leave anything out in terms of the intimidation tactics he'd used to frighten Ben, and Thor made no comment about it, either holding his tongue after what he'd said earlier, or agreeing with how Loki handled the situation. Loki suspected he would have done no less if Jane or any of his friends had been in a similar situation.

He decided not to mention the last part of the evening to Thor at this time, feeling certain nothing would come of it, or if it did, there would be a more significant time to point it out.

"Will you return to Asgard now?" Thor asked. "Speak with Father?"

Loki drew in a ragged breath letting it out slowly. He was not looking forward to his meeting; even though it could only have a good outcome based on the fact his power had been returned. But he had doubts in his own mind if he was really ready for the throne. However, he felt eager to return so that he could begin his search for more answers about the Yurians and Claris. "Yes," he said, "but not tonight." He gave his brother a fond pat on the knee and then got up from the couch, grabbing the phone and heading to his room.

* * *

_Loki blew some air from his mouth with tedium. He leaned back in his seat and placed his booted feet on the white table top, hands clasped tightly behind his head._

"_Loki!" Odin admonished sharply._

_Loki immediately removed his feet from the table and sat properly. Opposite him, Thor chuckled. Loki mocked his chuckle sarcastically. "Father, what purpose is visiting this facility to do with attempting to bring sense to this race of warless creatures?" he asked the bearded man at the head of the table._

"_The Yurians are a very proud people," the All-Father said. "And in order to show them that we are sensitive to their nature so that they may more hear our proposals, we must be prepared to show that their pride is well placed. This facility is the heart of their culture. We would do well to see it through their eyes." He focussed his eye on Loki. "It's very unlike you to be this uneasy, my son."_

"_I don't like it here," Loki said folding his arms and looking at the door, willing the Ambassador to appear so that their tour could begin and end so they could get to the matter at hand. "There are strange goings on in this place that I can feel in my bones."_

"_Even with your magic diminished, brother?" Thor smirked._

_Loki scowled at his blonde sibling. "Another absurdity of this place. Why have such wards in place? Are they so fearful that we may learn their secrets? What uses have we for their technology?" He flicked his wrist to test the potency of the charm in place to hold his magic at bay. It was not quite enough to stop it entirely, but the illusion of the apple Loki conjured flickered and then sputtered out. He sighed. "For that matter, what could they possibly have to show us if everything is so concealed away?"_

"_For once I agree with Loki, Father," Thor said finally showing his annoyance at the situation. "We waste our precious time here fawning over a proud man's whims. The Ambassador should be treating us with more respect. Instead he plays with us, keeps us waiting when we should be discussing war and defence, as we came here to do two days ago!" For emphasis, he slammed a fist against the table and it rattled so much Odin's goblet of water fell over._

_The older man frowned in Thor's direction. "Calm yourself!" he hissed. Loki concentrated hard, very hard, and managed to remove the spill and deposit the liquid back in the glass as Odin righted it. "You would do well to sit and take in this lesson in diplomacy. You attempt to rush headlong into every situation and come barrelling out the other side none the wiser as how to solve them. Not everything can be resolved with haste."_

"_Although, haste would do the Ambassador well," Loki said with mirth. "Did you see how round he was?" Thor stifled a laugh. "I think more haste and less food would be the best course of action for him." Thor put a hand over his mouth. Odin closed his eye and shook his head. "I doubt that man hastened to anywhere in his life." Thor was laughing hard behind his hand and Loki struck the last nail in the coffin. "More haste, less waist!" Both young men dissolved into fits of laughter._

_A soft clearing of a throat from the door of the conference room alerted them to the fact that the Ambassador's assistant was about to introduce him. Thor wiped away a tear that had formed in his eyes and Loki pressed his lips tightly together to stop further laughter from escaping as the rotund man entered the room._

_An hour later, all thoughts of laughter had left Loki's mind as the insufferably boring man droned on and on about the history of the research facility. Whilst the Yurians were quick with their progression, moving forward in leaps and bounds in terms of their technologies, the Ambassador managed to draw out a short history with a blow by blow account of each man that had stood in office during that time and decisions they had made that influenced the facility directly. Loki felt sure the next Ambassador would be standing in this man's stead by the time the speech was finished._

"_And then came my great-grandfather…" the man began after a short pause._

_Loki's head lolled backwards and then snapped forwards as he realised he was falling asleep. He inadvertently cleared his dry throat, suffering for some more water that had long since run out. He lifted his glass and saw it was empty. He put the goblet down a little too hard with a groan and realised that the Ambassador had stopped talking and all eyes were on him. He ignored Odin's narrowed and warning eye, and Thor's amused ones. He bowed his head slightly towards the diplomat and leaned forwards to rub his legs. "Forgive my rudeness, Ambassador. I would beg my leave to stretch my legs as I feel a cramp coming on." He stood up and put on a show of hidden pain. "I will try not to be too long. Don't want to miss the final part of the story," he said with forced enthusiasm._

_The Ambassador chuckled. "It's quite alright, lad. Take your time. The story is far from over." Thor's eyes widened at this statement and Loki suppressed a smile._

_With a bow, he rounded the table and headed towards the door, catching Thor's _'please don't leave me'_ look. With the Ambassador's back towards him, Loki smiled wickedly at Thor's plight before all but rushing out the door._

_Out in the corridor, Loki followed his nose, peeking through glass windows into laboratories, not making any sense of what was going on in each. He tried to open some doors, but most were utility rooms filled with unused equipment or cleaning implements. Other doors would not open and had no windows and had no discernible locks for Loki to inspect._

_Growing bored of what he was sure he'd be seeing later on the tour, he rounded a corner and realised he couldn't remember the way back to the conference room. He searched for someone to tell him where to go but he was well and truly lost, and no one was outside of any rooms he came across. One such room had a tiny frosted window in the door and when he looked through it, he could see bodies moving about inside. He rapped loudly on the door waiting for someone to acknowledge him._

_After a few moments, the door opened a crack and one of the scientists poked her head out. "This is a restricted area!" she snapped. "How did you get here?"_

"_Forgive the intrusion, my lady," Loki said bowing. "I got lost and found my way here completely by accident. I am Loki of Asgard. I was in the conference room with your Ambassador and felt the need to stretch my legs."_

_The woman smiled and exited the room, leaving the door ajar. Inside, Loki could see various instruments and equipment he couldn't hope to know about or understand on sight alone. What caught his eye, though, were the sharp tools littered over worktops, some of them very bloody._

"_Prince Loki, ah yes, we were told of your arrival," the woman said loudly, as if trying to alert her colleagues that he was there, and then pulled the door closed. "I apologise for my rudeness, but this is a secure area. Not everyone is allowed." She cocked her head to the side. "Although, I _was_ told to show the Asgardians all that they wanted to see. Would you care to inspect our lab?"_

_Loki really didn't. No doubt he would be seeing it a bit later. "I really should be getting back to my father and brother," he started. "If you wouldn't mind showing me…"_

"_Right this way," the woman said grabbing his arm and opening the door. She pulled him into the room and the door shut with a click. Loki felt a tingle run through his body as yet another magical ward affected him._

"_Now see here, woman," Loki began, but with unusual strength, the Yurian woman swung him round and he fell backwards onto a soft padded chair. Surprised that either his strength had failed him or the Yurian's were stronger than they let on, he tried to get up, but a male placed a hand on his chest and kept him in place. "What are you doing?" Loki demanded as his wrists and ankles were bound. In a panic, he tried to use his magic, but the extra ward had blocked them completely. "You know who I am; what do you think you are doing?!"_

"_Arian, the syringe please," the woman asked her colleague. _

"_Eren, are you sure we should be doing this?" the man asked with worry._

"_We have to!" she hissed. "Now please, the needle!"_

_The man named Arian handed a syringe to her. She pulled the stopper off the needle and removed the air from the liquid in the small hypodermic. "Hold him still."_

_Arian grabbed Loki's head and pulled it sideways exposing the veins in his neck. Loki's eyes widened as he realised they intended to stick him with whatever was in the syringe. "No, stop!"_

"_Forgive us, Asgardian," the woman apologised. "We have no choice."_

_The needle slipped through Loki's skin with ease. The pinch made Loki flinch slightly, but the hold Arian had on him was incredibly secure. Within moments, Loki could feel his eyes becoming heavy. "You have no idea…what wrath you…will bring upon yourselves…" he slurred, "…attacking the Son of Odin…" And then he was gone._

_When Loki opened his eyes again, he was standing in front of a piece of equipment. He blinked and the Yurian woman standing next to him babbled on about its purpose, her arm locked around his. He must have fallen asleep on his feet, his boredom catching him. "I'm sorry," he said apologetically, "but I really have no idea what you're talking about. I must get back to my father and brother."_

"_Of course," she said. _

_Loki looked at the woman's colleague as she led him from the room, and confusion misted into his brain. Did he know him? He seemed vaguely familiar and he was looking at him with what appeared to be extreme uneasiness. He shook his head brushing it off as silliness. This was Loki's first time on Claris and he'd never met any Yurians before arriving two days ago._

_The Yurian woman pointed him in the right direction. "Take care, Prince Loki," the woman, Loki couldn't remember if she'd given him her name, waved him off. He found her attitude to be strange, but put it down to cultural differences._

_Loki also realised he was carrying a book. He briefly looked at it, and saw it was about Yurian culture, history and technology. He groaned, remembering the woman pushing this into his hands insisting he add it to Adgard's Library as soon as he'd finished reading it, before then showing him each and every piece of equipment in the lab. That was when he must have fallen asleep on his feet. Well, if the book was as boring as their lectures, he was certainly not going to read it any time soon!_

_He shook his head and continued on his way before he eventually found the conference room again. Opening the door, Odin, Thor and the Ambassador looked at him. He must have had a look of confusion on his face as Thor frowned with concern. "Brother, is something wrong? You've been gone for a time."_

_Loki opened his mouth to mention something, but whatever he was going to say was tugged from his mind. He felt a headache coming on. As soon as he could leave the facility, he would be able to rid himself of it with his healing abilities. "No, everything is fine. I just got a bit lost." He smiled and headed back to his seat, placing the book on the table in front of him. He noticed the Ambassador looked briefly at the book, a look of unidentifiable emotion crossing his face, which Loki, without the full use of his magic, could not determine. "Please continue."_

_The Ambassador smiled suddenly. "You're just in time," he said. "That brings us to my first appointment…"_

_Loki rolled his eyes and rubbed at his neck, which felt stiff as the Ambassador's voice buzzed on and on…_

* * *

Loki jerked awake, sitting bolt upright. What? Was that a dream…or a memory? He rubbed his neck, which he knew was fine, but throbbed with phantom feeling. It had been over 700 years since that visit to Claris and he had never had that dream before, nor was it a memory clear in his mind.

He realised his phone was vibrating next to him, which must have brought him out of his sleep, all memory of that visit fleeing from his mind. He looked bleary eyed at it realising that it hadn't even been an hour since he went to bed after his talk with Thor. He then noticed it was a call coming through and it was Daniel.

His hand hovered over the phone, hesitating. Before he'd gone to bed, he'd considered popping back to Daniel's and simply taking the man, the memory of how he had practically begged Loki to do it earlier fresh in his mind. He took a deep breath and answered. "Daniel?"

There was heavy breathing. "_Loki,_" came Daniel's hushed voice.

Loki's heart fluttered against his chest and he grinned. "Is everything alright?" he asked with a seductive purr.

"_Please, help me!_"

Loki frowned, not expecting _that _type of desperation in Daniel's voice. He pulled the duvet from him, realising in the back of his mind that he was still wearing the clothes from earlier, and got off the bed. "What is it?" he asked urgently, all thoughts of sex leaving him.

"_It's Ben!"_ Daniel said, still hushed. "_Please, Loki, I don't know what to do. He must have broken into my flat because he's here! I've managed to barricade myself in my room, but it won't hold for long._" There was a crash and Loki could hear Ben shouting angrily in the background.

Loki didn't wait any further. He closed the phone and in the same instance he transported himself to Daniel's. He appeared in Daniel's living room and saw Ben throwing himself against the bedroom door.

"Danny, you open this door right now!" Ben growled. "I just want to talk to you." He must have then realised he wasn't alone in the room. He turned slowly and gasped when he saw Loki standing there.

Stepping forwards slowly Loki narrowed his eyes at the curly-haired man. "Your presence is beginning to vex me, human," he said with a low tone.

"How did…" Ben began, then shook his head and took up a defensive stance.

Loki laughed cruelly. "Do you really think you pose any threat to me, mortal?"

"I may be no match for your…whatever it is that allows you to pop up wherever the hell you feel like, but I'll bet I could take you in a physical fight," Ben argued. "You don't look _that_ strong."

Loki chuckled at his ignorance and at the same time managed to be slightly offended as childhood taunts came back to him. "How soon you seem to forget how I bested you in that alley. Very well," he said, "perhaps I will even hold back slightly to give you a fair chance."

Not giving Ben any further time to prepare, Loki launched himself at him, who ducked out of his way. Loki grabbed Ben by the shoulder and flung him away from Daniel's door. Ben fell against the coffee table, smashing it to pieces, grunting from the impact, but still got up off the wreckage. He made a show of dusting himself off. "Is that really all you've got?" he mocked.

Loki's brow puckered and he went to strike Ben, but he caught Loki's fist in one hand. Loki, surprised, missed the advancing fist. It struck him across his cheek and he staggered backwards. He growled and tried to attack again. This time, Ben ducked and punched him in the gut. Loki twisted away and jumped clear of an attempted kick to his legs. A second attempt caught him at the back of his thigh, and brought him to his knees.

"Had enough?" Ben asked with a smirk.

Loki looked up at Ben, confusion in his mind. Had his strength been taken from him again that this mere mortal was beating him so soundly?

No. He could still feel his magic surging through him, which confused him all the more. He stood quickly and matched Ben's smile, masking his worry. "I see. I have underestimated you. Well, I won't make that mistake twice." He stepped to the side and a clone appeared next to him. Ben managed to look surprised. "And you shouldn't underestimate my own abilities." One clone became two, then four, then eight. They encircled Ben.

"That's not playing fair," Ben said, but he was clearly not fazed by it, not as much as Loki expected at least.

He went to attack the nearest clone and fell right through, the clone disappearing. Loki, who was near, landed a strike across Ben's back as he went down and quickly danced away as Ben turned to grab his ankle. Another clone was kicked by Ben and it too disappeared. Loki realised his teleport had drained him too much to keep the clones with any substance, so he had to use them as distractions. He mingled with them before Ben recovered.

Ben leapt back to his feet and growled. "Well, who knew Dan had friends in such high places!" he mocked with a bow. "Your highness."

One of the clones spoke up. "What do you know of me?" it asked in Loki's stead. Ben immediately lunged for it. All the others, including Loki jumped away.

"I know all about Asgard's fallen prince," Ben sneered as the clone disappeared. He spun round and faced the remaining five and the real Loki. "Lust for power, penchant for trickery and deception, as is evident here, not willing to fight his own battles; relying on the help of an alien race to take over one puny planet."

One clone made a grab for Ben, but Loki still wasn't able to give it any real clout. The clone sputtered at the minor impact, Ben hardly being affected at all. Loki clenched his jaw. They were draining his energy too much. With a wave of his hand, he vanished them. "Say who you are," he demanded.

Ben appeared to relax, obviously sensing that Loki would not attack just yet. "I am but one left. I was brought here with the sole purpose of seeking out the one _He_ has been searching for."

"_He_?" Loki growled. "You mean the unnamed one the Other works for? How know you of _Him_?" He narrowed his eyes with suspicion. "You're...not human. Speak, creature! Who are you?"

Ben laughed. "Oh, I am human," he said. "Well, relatively. I was imbued with the ability to take one form after my original body was sent here. Once I did so, I would forever be stuck in that appearance until I die." He flexed his arms in a show of his muscles hidden beneath his shirt. "With a few extra hidden talents that most humans don't possess thanks to my true nature." Ben shot a look of distaste at Loki. "You may have surprised me back in the alley, but I knew I couldn't show my hand just yet, not in that setting. Now is a much more appropriate time."

Loki growled. "You're one of the Chitauri?" 'Ben' nodded once and bowed slightly in introduction. "This form you chose; a living person?" Loki asked, wondering if Ben had ever really existed.

"He did. He's not anymore."

"You killed him?"

"He was already dead when I was sent here. I simply took his place." 'Ben' motioned towards the bedroom door. "I had to get close to him."

"And your purpose with him?"

'Ben' spread his hands. "It was anticipated that your invasion would fail and that the Tesseract would be lost. A backup plan was set in motion, the details of which I am not at liberty to tell you. But you will find out soon enough." He leaned forwards and sneered. "We're not through with you yet, Asgardian. You will still be of use to _Him_."

"I am free from the influence _He_ had over me, and I will never help him willingly," Loki said adamantly. "I no longer desire to rule Midgard."

'Ben' laughed. "Oh, how naïve you are. Your desires were always irrelevant, childish and petty."

Loki growled. How dare this insignificant soldier make light of his former ambitions. "So, you may have a human visage, but you are not human?"

"That is correct."

Loki smiled. "Then I have no reason to feel bad."

'Ben' frowned. "Feel bad about wha…?" His question was cut off when a dagger struck him, protruding from his chest. He looked down at the intricate blade, the handle of which was gilded in green and gold, and then back up at Loki, a dribble of blood slipping from the side of his mouth as his lungs filled with the fluid. He coughed, more blood spewing from him and stepped forwards.

Two more daggers joined the first; one through the heart and the other between the eyes. 'Ben' pitched forwards and fell dead at Loki's feet. The illusion of the human features morphed leaving a hideous grey reptilian-like creature on the floor. Disgusted, Loki retrieved his weapons and they went back into the pocket dimension from whence they came.

Behind him, Loki heard the bedroom door creak open. He turned and looked at Daniel, wondering if the good doctor would take this in his stride as he had so very much everything else. "Are you going to be alright?" he asked.

Daniel emerged completely from the room wearing a grey t-shirt and black and blue plaid pyjama bottoms, looking carefully at the thing on his living room floor. He gulped. "I don't…I don't understand…he wasn't Ben?"

Loki folded his hands behind his back. "What timeframe has passed since my attack on New York?"

Daniel opened his mouth to answer, his eyes not leaving the body. "Um…about a year…maybe slightly more."

"And when did you meet Ben?"

"Well, it was actually a few years ago, but we didn't get together until…oh god!" Daniel looked horrified. "We got together just after the attack, after I hadn't seen him for a few months." He looked like he was about to throw up.

Loki put a hand on Daniel's shoulder, reading his repulsion at having had physical relations with such a creature, and in the same vein, his heart plummeted knowing that he too had an abhorrent visage. "If it makes you feel any better, he was human while he took on that form."

"It doesn't,' Daniel groaned. He slumped to the ground. "This is so utterly messed up! And what was he talking about? Why did he want me? What plans?"

Loki joined Daniel on the floor. He put a hand to his chin to get Daniel to look at him. "Calm down," he said softly, sending small amounts of calming magic through to the young man's mind.

Daniel visibly relaxed. He wiped at a bead of sweat that was running down his temple. "Loki, I'm scared. I don't know what's going on."

Loki dropped his hand from Daniel's face. "Me neither," he admitted. "But I know one thing; something big is yet going on. My old 'allies' are still active, and I have to warn my father about it. If the Other and _He_ are still after the Tesseract, they might try to find a way into Asgard." He stood up and turned away. "I must return there now. With this soldier dead, they might move their plans forward and I cannot delay any further." He paused. "And you'll have to come with me."

Daniel scrambled up. "What?"

Loki turned back to look at the doctor. "It's not safe for you here, in case there are others who have been placed near to keep an eye on you. He," he said pointing to the corpse, "has revealed more than he should, I feel. Until we know the purpose of their plans for you, you will be better protected with me."

Daniel swallowed. "To Asgard?" Loki nodded. "If…if you think that's best."

Loki shot him a reassuring smile. "Of course."

Daniel sighed and looked at the Chitauri body. "What do we do with him?"

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A/N: Well, what did you think? I would love your ideas on what you think should happen. You've been reading the story, tell me; what would you like to see happen? I may incorporate it later and give credit if your idea is used or helps me to move on. :)


	10. Chapter 10

Next chapter. Bit short, but heading towards the meat of the story, and I promise, there is smut coming. ;)

Own nothing but my OC!

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**Chapter 10**

Loki transported them both to Jane's apartment after Daniel changed into better clothes, opting for smart due to their destination; black trousers, dark purple button up shirt and black suit jacket with dress shoes.

He spoke briefly with Thor, explaining what had happened and what his plan was; to take Daniel to Asgard for protection while he tried to find out what was going on. He suggested that they go to Daniel's apartment and fetch the ugly mess that Loki had left and take it to SHIELD. Perhaps they could make some use of the body.

After giving the address and Daniel's keys to them, they headed to the roof of the building just as dawn was breaking over the London skyline.

"Be careful, brother," Thor warned grasping Loki by the back of the neck with affection. This time, Loki felt no need to shrug it off and managed to fully appreciate it. "I will follow once I have appraised SHIELD of the potential dangers."

Loki nodded, not bothering to say anything else and patted Thor's arm. He then lead Daniel to a more open area of the roof and looked to the sky. He didn't need to say anything before the unmistakable sound of the Bifrost roiled high above them.

Just before it connected to the ground, Loki looked at Daniel. "This will likely be very disorientating." He held a hand out for the other man to take if he needed. Daniel did take his hand, just as the connection was made and the two were swept off their feet in an instant.

In a matter of seconds, they landed at the Bifrost gate. Loki walked casually through, but Daniel stumbled. Loki caught him before he tumbled to the ground, steadying him with a strong grip.

"Ugh," Daniel said. "I've never liked long distance travel." He put a hand to his head trying to stop his head spinning. "That was worse than the popping from my place to Thor's!"

Loki chuckled affectionately and then looked to Heimdall. "Mighty Heimdall, how fare you?"

The tall golden gatekeeper bowed slightly. "Welcome back, Loki," he said, his voice reverberating through the domed building. Daniel flinched slightly, but a hand on his shoulder steadied him. "Your father awaits you both in his chambers. There is much to discuss."

"His chambers?" Loki asked. "Not the Great Hall?"

Heimdall shook his great head. "Do not dally. He is expecting you now."

Loki nodded and pushed Daniel forwards a bit. "His chambers?" Daniel echoed Loki's surprise. "That sounds…less formal."

"Yes," Loki agreed slowly looking to Heimdall for any clues as to why this would be the case.

The tall man gave nothing away. "Informal as it may be," Heimdall said, "_you_ would do well to be more presentable to your King."

Loki paused and looked down at his clothes. Loki was still wearing his black shirt and trousers and shoes. "Oh," he said slightly embarrassed. "Don't worry; I'll rectify that." Heimdall simple gave another slow shallow bow in acknowledgement.

As they exited the gate and walked along the bridge, Loki shimmered as his Midgardian clothes changed into his Asgardian black green and gold attire, not breaking his gait. He was not wearing the cloak or helmet. Meeting in his father's chambers did not call for that level of formality. He flexed a bit as they walked unsure if he felt happy to be back in his old clothes or not. He looked at Daniel, who was looking at him with awe. He grinned. "Ah yes, this is the first time seeing me like this. Seen something you like?"

Daniel returned the smile but decided not to say anything about that. Instead, he looked at the sky and the towering city in front of them. "This is…amazing," he said with awe. He pushed his glasses higher on his nose.

Loki groaned and flicked his fingers, Daniel's hideous glasses flying off his nose. Daniel protested loudly and they both paused to watch as the pointless spectacles bounced along the rainbow bridge and then off the side. Daniel glared at Loki.

"You can get rid of those as well," Loki said motioning at his eyes, indicating the contact lenses Daniel was wearing. "You won't be needing them anymore."

"I've got nowhere to put them," Daniel ground out.

"Over the edge would be my suggestion," Loki said and gave him a wolfish smile as they continued to walk. He made a gesture and Daniel gave him a warning look. Loki laughed. "Don't look so worried. I wouldn't dare to use magic to remove those."

Daniel stopped walking with a sigh and put his fingers to his eyes, removing the contacts with practised ease. With a quick look around to see if anyone was watching, he dropped them over the side of the bridge to follow the long gone glasses. "I hope this isn't considered littering," he mumbled. Loki laughed.

As they approached the huge gates to the city, they opened to reveal a troupe of einherjar. Loki couldn't help but tense up a bit, in the back of his mind thinking they were here to take him to his father in chains. He felt Daniel put a hand on his shoulder, and looking into the depths of the man's shining purple eyes and warming smile, he knew he was telling him it would be alright. He took a deep breath, awaiting their next move.

In unison, the bottoms of their staffs were pounded to the ground with a clang and they all took one knee, right hands poised over their hearts in a royal salute. At this, Loki stood up straighter and lifted his chin. "Greetings," he said. "We are to be escorted to the All-Father's chambers."

The group stood up and parted, allowing Loki and Daniel to walk between them. Loki strode long steps passed them and Daniel, who had been leaning in to look at one of the men close up had to run to catch up to him. When he did, the entourage closed behind them and followed.

Loki was amused by Daniel's childlike admiration for the gleaming city. "It's all so shiny!" was one of Loki's favourite lines, and several times he had to stop walking to wait for Daniel to catch up after he stopped to look at a tree or flower. But something that made _him_ stop in his tracks was the new statue leading towards the grand garden.

Veering from the path he'd been on, Loki stopped to look at a large golden statue, and it took his breath away. The figure was standing tall with gilded flowers and ivy surrounding her, a simple but elegant gown worn on her body, her face regal and bright. Her hands were spread wide, as if inviting the city into her arms, welcoming.

Daniel came up next to him to admire the glorious sculpture. "That is just magnificent," he said. "Who is she?"

Loki opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He felt a tear threaten to fall down his face and he swiped at it angrily, not wanting it to show. Coming back to himself, he swallowed hard trying to answer. "My mother," he said softly.

_You might want to take the stairs to the left._

His words to Kurse, before Frigga was slaughtered. He may have found vengeance in aiding to rid the realms of Kurse and Malekith, but he would never forgive himself his one act in allowing it to happen, and in all the time he'd spoken to Daniel, he had never once mentioned those circumstances, his guilt paining him to silence. Even his heritage was easier to bear.

Without waiting for Daniel's response, he spun on his heel and headed more quickly away from the statue towards the palace.

Upon reaching Odin's chambers, the guards outside rapped loudly on the door and then opened them widely. Taking in a deep breath, not knowing what to expect, Loki stepped inside.

The room was flooded with light from a large open window at the back of the room, which was open and letting in a wonderfully warm breeze. Loki knew this window overlooked the gardens that his mother regularly tended, and now her everlasting statue guarded. Odin stood at the window looking out at the gardens and city below. He turned to look at the newcomers.

"Welcome home, my son," he said with a small smile.

Hearing Odin call him 'son' had never bothered him before he found out about his parentage. Since then, the word had seemed meaningless. Now, a mixture of emotions crossed him. He wanted to be pleased, but recent events made him wary of Odin's sincerity, although, as Daniel had pointed out in a previous session, Odin probably was always being sincere and Loki's perspective was potentially skewed.

He chose to act as if it didn't matter to him. Loki bowed slightly. "All-Father, this is Daniel Atwell, the doctor who oversaw my…" His what? Emotional needs? Forced banishment? "…who helped me on Midgard." He gestured towards Daniel, who was standing with his arms loosely at his sides, looking for all the world as if he belonged there.

Daniel stepped forwards and bowed. "Your Majesty," he said simply.

Odin acknowledged the respect with a small tilt of his head. "Welcome. Asgard owes you a debt of gratitude for showing its wayward prince the path back to himself."

Daniel smiled with a blush. "Well, he did most of the work," he said patting Loki on the shoulder.

Odin's smile faded. "I believe you have much to say, Loki, and many questions, but first, we will celebrate your rehabilitation and return."

"That's really not necessary," Loki said humbly. "I would prefer to simply speak with you about…"

Odin lifted a hand to interrupt. "A grand feast is already being prepared for tonight. We will talk of more important matters tomorrow. You have both had a long night on Midgard. Use this time to relax." He turned to Daniel. "Show your guest to your quarters while his are being prepared."

"Father…" Loki began, urgent to learn everything that the All-Father may know about the Yurians, but was interrupted again.

"Tomorrow," Odin said gently. He walked over to Loki and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Everything will become clearer in the light of a new day."

Loki, knowing he would get nothing more from the old man now, bit back an annoyed growl and instead plastered a smile so fake he was sure the white-haired man could see right through it. "Of course," he said softly.

If Odin did see it was not a genuine smile, he made no show of it. He squeezed Loki's shoulder briefly and turned to Daniel. "We will make sure that you are safe here, Daniel Atwell, and tomorrow, we will decide how best to proceed with this newfound mission Loki has decided to take on. But for now, please enjoy all the hospitality Asgard has to offer." And with that, he turned his back on them and went back to the window.

Loki knew when he'd been dismissed and motioned for Daniel to follow. As they left the chambers and the great doors were shut behind them Daniel let out an explosive breath Loki hadn't realised the young man had been holding on to, belying his earlier calm demeanour. "Well, that went better than expected," the young man concluded with a smile.

Loki wasn't sure if he agreed.

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A/N: Review please!


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